On February 22, the Green Party of Arkansas filed this reply brief in the 8th circuit, in Green Party of Arkansas v Martin, 10-3106. This is the case that challenges the Arkansas law that removes a party from the ballot after each election, unless it polled 3% of the vote for the office at the top of the ballot (Governor in midterm years, President in presidential years).
On February 22, Connecticut filled vacancies in three State Senate seats, and six State House seats. Here are some preliminary results, although they are unofficial and don’t break down the vote by party. Many of the races had candidates who were the nominees of more than one party. When the official results are known, the vote cast on each party line will be known. Check back here for the official results.
The unofficial results for the 126th House district show that three independent candidates each outpolled the Republican nominee. Verna Kearney, one independent, polled 373 votes; another independent, Robert Keeley, polled 191 votes; another independent polled 89 votes; and the Republican nominee, James Keyser, only polled 82.
On February 17, Michael Chamness filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, alleging that California’s new election law unconstitutionally discriminates against him and other candidates who are not members of a qualified party. The case is Chamness v Bowen, central district, 2:11-cv-01479. He was a candidate for State Senate in the February 15 special election, and he also intends to be a candidate in the upcoming special U.S. House in the 36th district.
He is a registered member of the Coffee Party. The state will only print “No party preference” next to his name on the ballot. It will neither let him have “My party preference is the Coffee Party”, nor will it let him put “Independent” on the ballot next to his name. By contrast, members of qualified parties have a choice. They can either have “My party preference is the (whatever party the candidate is registered into), or “No party preference.” Here is the brief.
Chamness had attempted to intervene in a somewhat similar state court lawsuit, but the state court did not permit him to intervene in that lawsuit, which is called Field v Bowen and is pending in the State Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
The Oklahoma ballot access bill, HB 1058, introduced by Representative Charles Key, has picked up some additional co-sponsors. They are Senator Jim Reynolds (R-Oklahoma City), and Representatives Jason Murphey (R-Guthrie), and Joe Dorman (D-Rush Springs). This is the bill that lowers the number of signatures for a new party from 5% of the last vote cast (currently, 51,739 signatures) to exactly 22,500.
All briefs have now been filed in Ni v Slocum, pending in the California State Court of Appeals in San Francisco, case no. A128721. This is the case over whether electronic signatures are valid on initiative petitions. Amici curiae briefs on behalf of the proponent have been filed by the Asian American Action Fund, Citizens in Charge, the Humane Society of the United States, the National Taxpayers Union, the Electronic Signature and Records Association, Antonio Gonzalez, and Joe Trippi. Trippi is a well-known Democratic Party campaign consultant. Antonio Gonzalez is an attorney. No hearing date has been set yet.
The Constitution Party National Committee holds a meeting in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, April 28-30. Among the speakers will be former Congressman Virgil Goode, Sheriff Richard Mack, Taylor Haynes (who polled 7.41% for Governor of Wyoming as a write-in candidate last year), and John McManus, President of the John Birch Society. See here.
Goode was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives 1997-2009. He was elected at various times as a Democrat, as an independent, and as a Republican. He joined the Constitution Party’s national committee on November 18, 2010.