Alabama law requires a party to poll 20% of the vote for any office, in order to be on the ballot automatically, without submitting a petition. In November 2014, the Constitution Party polled over 20% of the vote for a partisan countywide office in Marshall County. The Secretary of State has acknowledged that the party is on the ballot (for county office only) in Marshall County in 2016, and has sent the party the voter registration rolls for the county. The party has the right to decide for itself whether it will nominate by convention or primary. It will probably choose a convention.
Marshall County has over 40,000 registered voters and is in northern Alabama. Thanks to Joshua Cassity for this news.
Under a U.S. Supreme Court precedent from 1970, Rockefeller v Socialist Workers Party, 400 U.S. 806, if the government gives a free list of the registered voters to a qualified party, it must also give the same list free to an unqualified party that is attempting to petition its way onto the ballot.
The Alabama Constitution Party are out there daily showing determination to save our state from the one party practices we see in our state capital. Thanks to the party for seeing what I see as compared to telling me what I see. I expect to see more commendable progress through Nov 2016 and beyond.
That is a very interesting precedent. I will forward it to our Secretary of State.
In order for anyone to understand the Rockefeller precedent, he or she also needs to see the decision of the 3-judge US District Court, which is at 314 F Supp 984 (southern district New York 1970). See the part of the decision on page 995. The US Supreme Court summarily affirmed the decision of the 3-judge court, so it is binding on the entire nation, but there is no separate decision to read.
The Libertarian Party of Alabama ought to use this Supreme Court president to try to get a hold of the list of registered voters in the state before it attempts to qualify candidates in 2016.