Ballot Access News | Edited By Richard Winger

California Newspaper Airs Issue of Whether State Should Eliminate Elections for Political Party Officers

Posted on February 6, 2011 by admin

California’s county election officials are hoping that the state legislature will pass a bill, ending elections for political party officers. For almost a century, members of qualified political parties in California have chosen county central committee members, at the primary election. The Libertarian Party has opted out of such elections, but the other five qualified parties continue to use these elections to choose party officers. The Contra Costa Times has this article, airing the issue. The reason for abolishing these elections is to save money.

Pennsylvania Elected Official Switches from Democrat to Independent

Posted on February 5, 2011 by admin

Last month, Schuykill County’s elected Controller, Melinda Kantner, changed her registration from “Democratic” to “independent.” She will run for re-election this November as an independent candidate. According to this newspaper story, she is the first countywide elected official in approximately 100 years who is neither a Republican nor a Democrat. Schuykill County is in eastern Pennsylvania, and contains Pottsville. The county has a population of 150,000. In the 2008 presidential election, John McCain carried the county with 53.5% of the total vote. Thanks to ThirdPartyDaily for the link.

New Mexico Bill Would Legalize Fusion

Posted on February 5, 2011 by admin

New Mexico Senator Eric Griego (D-Albuquerque) has introduced SB 93, which makes it possible for two parties to jointly nominate the same candidate. Also, the bill would let a party nominate anyone, regardless of how that candidate is registered.

North Dakota Bill for Blanket Primary is Defeated in Committee

Posted on February 5, 2011 by admin

On February 4, the North Dakota House Political Subdivisions Committee defeated HB 1299. The bill would have converted North Dakota from an open primary to a blanket primary. A blanket primary puts all candidates on a single ballot, and all primary voters use that ballot. Then, the top vote-getter from the ranks of each party advances to the general election. The bill had been sponsored by two Democratic legislators, Corey Mock and Lee Kaldor.

South Carolina Bill for Closed Primaries

Posted on February 5, 2011 by admin

South Carolina Representative Garry R. Smith (R-Simpsonville) has introduced HB 3110. It says that no one may vote in a party primary unless the person signs an affidavit saying he or she is a member of the party. Once a voter had signed such an affidavit, the voter would be deemed to continue to be a member of the same party, until he or she signed another form retracting it. Voters could not switch within 30 days of a primary.

The bill does not include presidential primaries, and if passed, would go into effect in time for the congressional primary of June 2012. Currently South Carolina has open primaries. Any voter, on primary day, can decide which party’s primary ballot to use. The Greenville County Republican Party has a pending lawsuit in U.S. District Court, in which the party seeks to implement such a procedure even in the absence of any state law on the subject. That case is The Greenville County Republican Party Executive Committee v State of South Carolina, 6:10-cv-1407.

Another South Dakota Bill to Move Independent Candidate Petition Deadline from June to April

Posted on February 5, 2011 by admin

Last month, fifteen South Dakota Representatives, and six State Senators, introduced HB 1158, to move the independent candidate petition deadline (for office other than President) from early June to late April. South Dakota’s primary is in June.

The same bill had been introduced in 2009. It was HB 1234, and it had passed the House 52-17, but it was defeated in the Senate State Affairs Committee after then-Secretary of State Chris Nelson testified that if the bill were passed, it would probably be declared unconstitutional. Unfortunately, Chris Nelson did not run for re-election in 2010, and it is not known if the new Secretary of State will take a position similar to that taken by Nelson in 2009. The bill in 2009 had even more co-sponsors: seventeen in the House and eight in the Senate.

Courts in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina, have all ruled that independent candidate petitions deadlines in advance of partisan primaries (except one day in advance) are unconstitutional. In 2000, a U.S. District Court ruled that South Dakota’s June petition deadline for independent presidential candidates was unconstitutional, and the legislature moved the presidential independent deadline to August. The bill does not propose to move the independent presidential deadline.