FOUR BALLOT ACCESS WINS IN LAST 30 DAYS

Arizona: on July 19, U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Eileen Willett ordered the Secretary of State to put the Green Party presidential nominee on the November ballot. Arizona Green Party v Reagan, cv-16-2027. This was the third time the Arizona Green Party had won a ballot access lawsuit. The first was in 1999, when the party won a case against a law that said only independent voters could sign for an independent candidate (Campbell v Hull). The second was a 2010 case against the ban on out-of-state circulators (Arizona Green Party v Bennett).

The 2016 case was filed after the Green Party missed the June 1 deadline for certifying the names of its presidential elector candidates. The Secretary of State said that, because the filing was late, she would not put the Green ticket on the November ballot. The party then sued and argued that the June 1 deadline is unconstitutional. In response, the Secretary decided not to try to defend the deadline. Because the state conceded, the case was settled quickly. The only other state with an early deadline for submission of the names of presidential elector candidates is Georgia, which has a July 1 deadline for independent candidates.

The reason the Arizona deadline is so early is that before 1988, presidential elector candidates were chosen in the primary. Nowadays they are chosen in party meetings, which can be much later in the year. The Libertarian Party had missed the Arizona deadline in 1996, and had filed a state court lawsuit to overcome the problem. That case won, but did not cause the legislature to improve the deadline. But now, the Secretary of State says she will ask the 2017 session of the legislature for a later deadline.

Arkansas: on July 15, U.S. District Court Judge James M. Moody, Jr., struck down a law that new parties (which nominate by convention) must choose all their non-presidential nominees at least a year before the election. Libertarian Party of Arkansas v Martin, e.d., 4:15cv-635. That law had been passed in 2015. The decision says that states cannot require convention parties to hold their meetings earlier than the date of the primaries for the old parties. In 2016 the Democratic and Republican Parties held their primaries in March, and in 2018 the primaries are in May.

The decision says the burden on the Libertarian Party is "slight" but that there is no state interest in requiring the party’s convention to be so early.

The party had held a convention in October 2015 and had nominated 17 candidates, who were on the November 2016 ballot no matter what the lawsuit decided. But then it had held a second convention in February 2016, and nominated four more candidates for the legislature, and four more for county office. The judge refused to put these last eight candidates on the ballot. The county candidates could not be o because the party hadn’t sued the county elections officials. The four legislative candidates can’t be on because the judge felt there was no reason why they couldn’t have been nominated in the party’s first convention.

This is only the fourth time any court has held that states can’t require convention parties to choose their nominees before the primary parties choose theirs. The other cases had been in South Carolina in 1970 and 1972, and Alabama in 1980. Such cases are rare because virtually no state ever even requires convention parties to hold their conventions earlier than primary parties.

Maryland: on July 26, the State Board of Elections agreed to settle Dorsey v Lamone, the case filed last year against the number of signatures for a statewide independent candidate. The Board signed a Settlement Agreement, which says, "Whereas, the Parties agree that a court would likely find that unaffiliated candidates for statewide office in Maryland now face a disproportionate burden on their ability to gain ballot access as compared to new party candidates, in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Plaintiffs and Defendants agree that for the 2016 general election and for any special general election in 2017, the Board will accept 10,000 signatures."

The lawsuit had been filed by Greg Dorsey, an independent candidate for U.S. Senate. His lawsuit argued the state had no need to require him to collect 40,603 signatures when new parties only need 10,000. On June 10, Judge George Russell had issued a ruling, denying the state’s attempt to dismiss the case and implying that the law was shaky.

The settlement also says that the Attorney General and the Board of Elections will ask the legislature to pass a bill in 2017 lowering the statewide petition to 10,000.

Pennsylvania: on June 30, U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Stengel issued an order in Constitution Party of Pennsylvania v Cortes, e.d., 5:12cv-2726. The order says that the number of signatures for statewide minor party and independent candidates this year will be 5,000. Existing law requires 21,775. The state had been telling the judge that the legislature was going to pass a similar bill, HB 342, which had passed the Senate on June 23. But after a week of inaction in the house, the judge wrote his own temporary law.

On July 21, U.S. District Court Judge Gershwin A. Drain, an Obama appointee, ordered Michigan to put a straight-ticket device on the November ballot. Michigan State A. Philip Randolph Institute v Johnson, e.d., 16-cv-11844. The order says that African American voters have used the device more than other voters, and therefore the legislature’s action early this year, removing the device, injures African Americans.

The order also says that because Michigan ballots still have party logos (tiny cartoon-like symbols for each party), there is a danger that voters who are accustomed to using the straight-ticket device will think that if they draw a circle around the party logo, that has the effect of casting a vote for all of the party’s nominees. The ruling also mentioned that Michigan law only gives voters two minutes to vote.

The order says restoring the straight-ticket device will not harm any voter or candidate. The judge seemed not to be aware that straight-ticket devices are harmful to minor party and independent candidates. On July 25, the state filed a notice of appeal to the Sixth Circuit.

On July 19, the Connecticut Secretary of State rejected Rocky De La Fuente’s petition to be an independent candidate, because it listed someone for President and someone for Vice-President who both live in Florida. The vice-presidential nominee is Michael Steinberg, of Tampa.

Connecticut erroneously believed that the Twelfth Amendment bars a presidential elector from voting for two persons who live in the same state. But De La Fuente pointed out that the Constitution only bars an elector from voting for two people from that elector’s own state, so then the state accepted the petition.

Only one independent presidential candidate submitted a petition in Nevada this year. Rocky De La Fuente submitted over 10,000 signatures to meet a requirement of 5,431. However, the state rejected his petition without even checking it. The law requires an independent presidential candidate to show his or her petition to the state before it circulates. De La Fuente submitted a copy of his petition to the Clark County elections office (Clark County has over half of Nevada’s population and De La Fuente expected to get all his signatures there). Unfortunately for him, he didn’t submit the petition to the Secretary of State.

It doesn’t follow logically that every instance of failing to follow the law means that a petition must be invalidated. The harm done to the state seems miniscule, and the harm done to voters who want to vote for De La Fuente is severe, especially because Nevada doesn’t allow write-ins. De La Fuente has an attorney working on resolving the problem.

In the meantime, the only minor party petition submitted this year in Nevada has not been approved. The Green Party’s petition was rejected for not having enough valid signatures, as noted in the last B.A.N. The party has not filed any lawsuit for more time, but is instead hoping to show that it really does hae enough valid signatures.

On July 14, Georgia State Senator Josh McKoon said he will introduce a bill in 2017 to abolish mandatory petitions for independent candidates, and the nominees of unqualified parties. McKoon is a Republican from Columbus, and he has been in the Senate since 2010. Georgia’s ballot would not be crowded if that bill passed, because the state’s filing fee is very high: 3% of the annual salary of the office.

On July 11, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Payne, a Bush Sr. appointee, struck down a Virginia law that punishes delegates to presidential conventions who don’t vote for the presidential candidate who won a Virginia presidential primary. Correll v Herring, e.d., 3:16cv-467. Donald Trump won the Republican Virginia primary, and delegate Carroll Correll said he did not want to vote for Trump at the convention.

The state argued that the lawsuit should be dismissed because Correll would not be prosecuted. But that argument was too late. Before Correll filed the lawsuit, he asked the Virginia Election Board if he could be prosecuted. The law establishes one year in jail and a fine of $2,500. The state board referred Correll to his local Commonwealth’s Attorney, who told Correll that yes, he would probably be prosecuted. Once that was said, nothing the state said later could erase that first response.

The decision depends on several U.S. Supreme Court rulings that state election laws cannot tell national political parties how to run their conventions. The ruling said strict scrutiny applies, and that the burden on Correll is severe. The state also argued that Correll filed his lawsuit too late. He was appointed a delegate on April 16 and he didn’t file the lawsuit until June 24. But the judge said Correll’s tardiness did not harm the state.

On July 11, the Commission on Presidential Debates said the debates for president will be: (1) Dayton, September 26; (2) St. Louis, October 9; (3) Las Vegas, October 19.

On July 19, the Dayton host, Wright State University, said it could not handle the debate. The same day, the Commission substituted Hempstead, New York.

Arizona: on July 20, U.S. District Court Judge David Campbell, a Bush Jr. appointee, refused to enjoin the new law that hugely increases the number of write-ins needed for a member of a small party to win his or her primary. Libertarian Party of Arizona v Reagan, 2:16cv-1019. He said he wants to sue how well the various Libertarian write-in candidates do in the August 30 primary.

Illinois: on July 20, a state trial court said the initiative to set up an independent redistricting commission cannot be on the ballot, even though it has enough valid signatures. The State Constitution says no initiatives are permitted except for those that change procedures for the legislature. A few days later, the State Supreme Court said it will accept an appeal of that decision. Hooker v Illinois State Board of Elections, 16 CH-6539.

Iowa: on June 30, the State Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that ex-felons cannot register to vote. The Constitution only refers to "infamous crimes", but the Court said that means all felonies. Griffin v Pate, 15-1661.

Nebraska: on July 14, the Eighth Circuit ruled that Kent Bernbeck does not have standing to challenge the law requiring statewide initiatives to have the signatures of 5% of the voters in at least 38 of the state’s 93 counties. The vote was 2-1. Bernbeck has frequently worked to qualify initiatives in Nebraska, and had won his case in U.S. District Court. He will ask for a rehearing.

New Mexico: on July 15, independent candidate Bob Perls filed a lawsuit in state court, arguing that the 3% petition for independent candidates is so difficult, it violates the State Constitution, which says, "All elections shall be free and open, and no power, civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage." The case is Perls v State, Santa Fe County, D-101-cv-2016-1744.

New York: on July 14, U.S. District Court Judge Sterling Johnson, a Bush Sr. appointee, refused to enjoin the state’s ban on out-of-state petitioners. Merced v Spano, e.d., 1:16cv-3054. He said the law is probably unconstitutional, but he said the case had been filed too late to deserve injunctive relief. The case remains alive, but for now the ban will be enforced. This is a Libertarian Party case.

Texas: on July 20, the entire panel of full-time judges of the Fifth Circuit ruled that the state must let voters who lack government photo-ID vote, if that voter signs under penalty of perjury that he or she was unable to obtain such ID. The vote was 9-6. Four of the majority were appointees of Republican presidents. Veasey v State, 14-41127.

Texas (2): on July 20, U.S. District Court Judge Lee Yeakel struck down an Austin campaign finance law that barred campaign contributions to candidates for Mayor and City Council, except during the six months before the election. Zimmerman v City of Austin, w.d., 1:15cv-628.

Virginia: on July 19, the Fourth Circuit refused to rehear Sarvis v Alcorn, the Libertarian Party case challenging the discriminatory order of candidates on the ballot. It is likely the party will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear this case.

Virginia (2): on July 22, the State Supreme Court said the Governor is not permitted to issue a blanket forgiveness to ex-felons who want to register to vote; he must consider each ex-felon separately. The vote was 4-3. Howell v McAuliffe, 160784.

Wisconsin: on July 19, U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Adelman ruled that the state must let voters who lack government photo-ID vote, if they sign under penalty of perjury that they were unable to obtain such ID. Frank v Walker, e.d., 11-cv-1128.

On July 25, California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed SB 49. It would have said that in a special legislative election, if only one candidate filed to be on the ballot, the election is cancelled. Brown said that this policy would prevent anyone from filing as a write-in candidate, because by the time such a candidate filed, it would be too late. The bill had passed unanimously in the State Senate, and only four members of the Assembly had voted "no."

On April 28, Tennessee HB 2079 was signed into law. It makes it more difficult for a group to keep its qualified party status. The old law said a party had two elections to meet the 5% vote test, but the new law says a party must poll 5% at every election, or it goes off the ballot. The bill passed unanimously.

Independent presidential candidate Rocky De La Fuente submitted 14,000 signatures to qualify in Georgia, and the state is checking his signatures. The requirement is 7,500. However, De La Fuente didn’t meet the July 1 deadline to submit the names of his presidential elector candidates, so he may be kept off the ballot. On the other hand, he may be able to make a case that the elector filing deadline is unconstitutional, especially given the Arizona outcome mentioned on page one.

The April 1, 2016 B.A.N. said that Utah Senate Bill 25 had been signed into law, and that it repealed the straight-ticket device. Actually SB 25 merely moved the authorization for the device from one part of the election code to another part. Utah still has a straight-ticket device.

State	Percent Needed	How Long Does Status Last?	Apply to All Offices?
Alabama	20%	2018	yes
Alaska	3%	2020, but not 2018	no, only president in 2020
Arizona	5%	2018 and 2020	yes
Arkansas	3%	2018	yes
Colorado	1%	2018 and 2020	yes
Connecticut	1%	2020, but not 2018	no, only president in 2020
D.C.	approximately 2.5%	2018	yes
Georgia	20% in entire nation	2018 and 2020	yes
Georgia	approximately 1.5%	2018	no, only statewide offices
Hawaii	10%	2018	yes
Idaho	3%	2018	yes
Illinois	5%	2018	no, only statewide offices
Iowa	2%	2018	yes
Kansas	1%	2018	yes
Kentucky	2%	2018, 2019, 2020	yes
Louisiana	5%	2018, 2019, 2020	yes
Maryland	1%	2018	yes
Massachusetts	3%	2018	yes
Michigan	approximately one-half %	2018	yes
Minnesota	5%	2018 and 2020	yes
Missouri	2%	2018 and 2020	yes
Montana	approximately 2%	2018 and 2020	yes
Nebraska	5%	2018 and 2020	yes
Nevada	1%	2018	yes
New Mexico	One-half %	2018	yes
No. Carolina	2%	2018 and 2020	yes
No. Dakota	5%	2018	yes
Ohio	3%	2018 and 2020	yes
Oklahoma	2.5%	2018	yes
Oregon	1%	2018 and 2020	yes
Pennsylvania	approximately 1%	2017 and 2018	only special elections
Rhode Island	5%	2018 and 2020	yes
Tennessee	5%	2018	yes
Texas	5%	2018	yes
Utah	2%	2018 and 2020	yes
Virginia	10%	2017 and 2018	Yes
Washington	5%	2018 and 2020	yes
Wisconsin	1%	2018	yes

In the states listed above, a party that polls a certain share of the vote for president gains qualified ballot status for the next election, or the next several elections. Most of the listed states have a vote test that applies to all statewide offices, not just President. The only states that use only president for their vote test are Kentucky and Washington.

Maine is not listed above. However, if a party that was not previously qualified receives 5% of the vote for President, it becomes a qualified party. But an already-qualified party does not retain its qualified status by polling any share of the vote for President.

States in which a party’s vote for president has no effect on whether it gains or keeps qualified status are California, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Although a party’s qualified status in Vermont is not affected by its share of the vote, whether it becomes entitled to a primary is determined by its vote; a 5% vote for President gives it a primary for the next election.

Except for Maine, if a presidential candidate does not have his or her party’s label on the ballot, then the vote doesn’t count for ongoing qualified status.

STATE	REQUIREMENTS		SIGNATURES COLLECTED				DEADLINES
	FULL PARTY	CAND	LIB’T	GREEN	CONSTI	ROCKY	Pres Party	Pres. Indp.
Ala.	35,413	5,000	*4,000	*4,400	*700	0	Mar. 1	Aug. 18
Alaska	(reg) 8,399	#3,005	already on	*finished	already on	*3,000	Aug. 10	Aug. 10
Ariz.	20,119	#35,514	already on	*already on	0	0	Sep. 9	Sep. 9
Ark.	10,000	#1,000	already on	already on	already on	finished	Aug. 1	Aug. 1
Calif.	(es) (reg) 61,000	178,039	already on	already on	340	in court	July 11	Aug. 12
Colo.	(reg) 1,000	#pay $1,000	already on	already on	already on	*already on	Aug. 10	Aug. 10
Conn.	no procedure	#7,500	*6,200	*2,600	0	*finished	Aug. 10	Aug. 10
Del.	(reg) 654	6,526	already on	*finished	*315	0	Aug. 20	July 15
D.C.	no procedure	(est.) #4,600	*2,500	already on	0	0	Aug. 10	Aug. 10
Florida	be organized	119,316	already on	already on	already on	in court	Sep. 1	July 15
Georgia	51,912	#7,500	already on	*finished	*too late	*disputed	July 12	July 12
Hawaii	707	#4,347	already on	already on	already on	0	Aug. 10	Aug. 10
Idaho	13,047	1,000	already on	*250	already on	*already on	Aug. 30	Aug. 24
Illinois	no procedure	#25,000	*already on	*already on	*too late	too late	June 27	June 27
Indiana	no procedure	#26,700	already on	too late	too late	too late	June 30	June 30
Iowa	no procedure	#1,500	*1,500	*1,800	*1,900	finished	Aug. 19	Aug. 19
Kansas	16,960	5,000	already on	*finished	*500	0	June 1	Aug. 1
Ky.	no procedure	#5,000	in court	0	in court	0	Sep. 9	Sep. 9
La.	(reg) 1,000	#pay $500	already on	already on	124	0	Aug. 19	Aug. 19
Maine	(reg) 5,000	#4,000	*already on	already on	*too late	0	Aug. 1	Aug. 1
Md.	10,000	*10,000	already on	already on	*too late	0	Aug. 1	Aug. 1
Mass.	(est) (reg) 45,000	#10,000	*finished	already on	*too late	*3,000	Aug. 2	Aug. 2
Mich.	31,519	30,000	already on	already on	already on	0	July 21	July 21
Minn.	98,770	#2,000	*1,900	*1,400	*800	0	Aug. 23	Aug. 23
Miss.	be organized	1,000	already on	already on	already on	0	Sep. 9	Sep. 9
Mo.	10,000	10,000	already on	*finished	already on	0	Aug. 1	Aug. 1
Mont.	5,000	#5,000	already on	*800	0	0	Aug. 17	Aug. 17
Nebr.	5,395	2,500	already on	500	*2,000	0	Aug. 1	Aug. 1
Nev.	5,431	5,431	already on	*disputed	already on	*disputed	June 3	July 8
N. Hamp.	*14,866	#3,000	*2,000	*1,500	0	*2,500	Aug. 10	Aug. 10
N.J.	no procedure	#800	*finished	*finished	already on	*finished	Aug. 1	Aug. 1
N. M.	2,565	15,388	already on	already on	already on	*already on	June 30	June 30
N.Y.	no procedure	#15,000	*16,000	already on	*0	*5,000	Aug. 2	Aug. 2
No. Car.	89,366	89,366	already on	too late	too late	in court	May 17	June 9
No. Dak.	7,000	#4,000	already on	0	0	0	Sep. 5	Sep. 5
Ohio	30,560	5,000	in court	already on	*200	1,000	July 6	Aug. 10
Okla.	24,745	40,047	already on	*too late	*too late	in court	July 15	July 15
Oregon	22,046	17,893	already on	already on	already on	0	Aug. 30	Aug. 30
Penn.	no procedure	*5,000	*finished	*finished	*finished	*finished	Aug. 1	Aug. 1
R.I.	16,203	#1,000	*50	0	*100	*50	Sep. 9	Sep. 9
So. Car.	10,000	10,000	already on	already on	already on	0	May 8	July 15
So. Dak.	6,936	2,775	already on	0	already on	*1,500	July 11	Aug. 4
Tenn.	33,816	275	*already on	in court	in court	*50	Aug. 10	Aug. 18
Texas	47,086	79,939	already on	already on	too late	too late	May 22	May 9
Utah	2,000	#1,000	already on	*525	already on	*already on	Aug. 15	Aug. 15
Vermont	be organized	#1,000	already on	*finished	0	*600	Aug. 1	Aug. 1
Virginia	no procedure	#5,000	*5,000	*3,100	*500	0	Aug. 26	Aug. 26
Wash.	no procedure	#1,000	*finished	*already on	*finished	*finished	July 23	July 23
West Va.	no procedure	#6,705	already on	already on	*finished	0	Aug. 1	Aug. 1
Wisc.	10,000	#2,000	already on	already on	already on	*2,000	Aug. 2	Aug. 2
Wyo.	3,302	3,302	already on	0	already on	0	June 1	Aug. 30
TOTAL STATES ON			36*	23*	18	4*	“	“

#partisan label is permitted on the ballot (other than "independent").
"CONSTI" = Constitution Party.
"ROCKY" means independent candidate Rocky De La Fuente.
* = change since July 1, 2016 issue.

On July 25, Utah State Senator Mark Madsen said he has changed his registration from "Republican" to "Libertarian." He was first elected to the Senate in 2004, and is not running for re-election. This is the first time any party, other than the Democratic and Republican Parties, has had state legislators in as many as three states simultaneously since 1934-1936, when the Socialist Party had legislators in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Joe Marino, a registered independent, was recently declared elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives. The 85^th district was vacant because the incumbent Republican had resigned. Marino was the only candidate who filed for the special election, so he was deemed to be elected. Louisiana does not permit write-ins, and when only one person files, the election is cancelled. There are now three independents in the Louisiana legislature.

One can now make a guess as to which presidential candidates some various one-state parties will nominate.

California: leaders of the American Independent Party are leaning toward nominating Donald Trump. California permits two parties to jointly nominate the same presidential candidate. The AIP must first determine if the California Republican Party will permit a fusion slate of presidential electors. The Peace & Freedom Party is likely to nominate Gloria La Riva, who is also the presidential nominee of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. Both California parties choose their presidential nominees on August 13 in Sacramento.

Delaware Independent Party: endorsed Donald Trump on May 30, but can’t nominate him because Delaware abolished fusion a few years ago.

United Independent Party of Massachusetts probably won’t nominate anyone.

New York Independence Party is likely to nominate Donald Trump.

Oregon Independent Party won’t nominate anyone. Bernie Sanders won the party’s private presidential primary, but he got less than 50%, and in any event he wouldn’t accept the nomination.

Since 2011, California has used the top-two system for congressional elections, and for partisan state office. However, in November, there will be three candidates on the ballot for Assembly, 62^nd district. They will be one Democrat, one Republican, and one Libertarian. The June 7 primary ballot only had one candidate, Democrat Autumn Burke. Two write-in candidates filed, and they each got 32 write-ins. The top-two law says when there is a tie for second place in the primary, but tied candidates (along with the first-place finisher) are on the November ballot.

The Green Party of West Virginia (called the Mountain Party) has nominated Charlotte Pritt for Governor. In 1996 she was the Democratic nominee for that office.

Hawaii has fourteen State Senate seats up. Libertarians are running in six districts; Republicans in five districts.