Fordham Law Review, December 2016 issue, has kindly published my article, “Does the Constitution Provide More Ballot Access Protection for Presidential Elections than for U.S. House Elections?” Here is a pdf of the article. I hope it focuses attention on the dismal state of ballot access laws in the United States for third parties and independents in U.S. House elections.
In Georgia, no one has successfully completed the independent or minor party petition to get on the ballot for U.S. House since 1964. In North Carolina and South Carolina, no independent candidate for U.S. House has ever appeared on a government-printed ballot. North Carolina has had government-printed ballots since 1901, and South Carolina since 1950.
Excellent article. The point about having multiple (not just 2) parties in the House as forcing some negotiation and compromise was particularly good.
How did people vote before government printed ballots?
Richard: Shouldn’t South Carolina be listed as one of the states that used to have presidential electors selected by the legislature rather than popular vote (see text at note 14)? SC didn’t have a popular vote for president until 1868.
Jim: People or groups could print or write-up their own “tickets” of whom they were voting for. And, as mentioned by Richard in his article, parties printed up their own “tickets” of their candidates and distributed them to voters to cast. In the earlier years of our nation, voters would even gather at the polling places and cast voice votes.
Here’s a good article on ballots from before the days of government printed election forms:
http://www.americanantiquarian.org/electionballots.htm
The *dismal* stuff is due to the DISMAL MORON lawyers and worse judges in ballot access cases.
1. Every election is NEW — merely common sense.
2. Separate is NOT equal. Brown v. Bd of Ed 1954
3. EQUAL ballot access tests for ALL candidates for the SAME office in the SAME area.
Difficult ONLY for the M-O-R-O-N SCOTUS hacks and ALL of their JUNK dismal ballot access opinions since Williams v. Rhodes in 1968.
There are WIKIS for all sorts of election stuff.
ballots, voting machines, voting systems, etc. etc. etc.
MAJOR chaos is developing in Michigan about the Prez election recount mess — due to the 2 Donkey and 2 Elephant HACKS on the Mich. State Board of Canvassers.
ALL sorts of CRISIS stuff will now happen in the Mich State and Fed courts — mandamus COMMANDS and/or injunction COMMANDS, etc. etc.
Probably it’s just easier to let a minor Presidential candidate on a state’s ballot than risk allowing minor candidates for state and local office on the ballot, which might seriously interfere with the local politicians’ access to the feeding trough.
Gene, Chris Powell – Thanks
https://www.scribd.com/document/333061884/USDC-DCD-16-Cv-1426-Doc-No-4-John-Jay-and-Donald-J-Trump-Birther-Judiciary-Act-Project-Docketed-Nov-29-2016