“Primaries for Palin” is a new web page, set up last month, to encourage Democrats and supporters of President Obama to vote for Sarah Palin in Republican presidential primaries. The site includes a chart that shows the rules on who can vote in Republican presidential primaries in each state. See the site’s “Voting Guide” for that chart.
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The Natural Law Party was founded in the United States, and in many other countries, in 1992. But the worldwide leadership of the Transcendental Meditation movement, which had created these parties, advised its followers almost ten years ago to shut them down.
However, the Michigan Natural Law Party continues to run candidates, and continues to be a ballot-qualified party. Michigan requires more signatures for statewide independent candidates, and for new parties, than any other state in the Midwest. But Michigan makes it easy for already-qualified parties to remain on the ballot. Old parties must run at least one statewide candidate who polls a number of votes equal to 1% of the vote cast for the winning candidate for Secretary of State. In 2010, new parties in Michigan needed 38,024 signatures to get on the ballot; statewide independents needed 30,000; but a party could remain on (for 2012) with only 16,083 votes.
Leaders of the Michigan Natural Law Party realize that their qualified status is valuable, so they keep the party alive. In presidential election years, the party awards its presidential nomination to whichever presidential candidate seems to deserve its nomination, and who would otherwise have trouble getting on the ballot. In 2004 the party nominated the Socialist Party presidential candidate, Walt Brown, for President. In 2008 it nominated independent candidate Ralph Nader.
In order to survive in midterm years, the party runs candidates for some of the less important statewide offices. In 2010, as in every previous election year, the party polled enough votes to remain on. However, its 2010 vote was lower than it has been in most years in the past. Its 2010 nominee for State Board of Education, who polled more votes than any other NLP nominee that year, received 1.11% of the vote for that office. The party’s highest statewide vote-getter is generally above 2%. Its best ever was 1998, when it polled 3.12% for University Regent.
Teresa Hessel, an independent candidate for city council in Belleville, Illinois, has been removed from the April 5, 2011 ballot because her petition sheets weren’t numbered. See this story.
SF 13, introduced into the Wyoming 2011 legislative session by Senator Kit Jennings (R-Casper) and Representative Amy Edmonds (R-Cheyenne) would eliminate the ability of a voter to switch parties on primary election day. It would also change the deadline for a voter to switch parties before primary day, from 30 days before the primary, to 60 days before.
If this bill passes, and if the Democratic Party does not wish to be bound by the new, more restrictive time limits, the Democratic Party could probably win a lawsuit, to retain the ability of people to switch to the Democratic Party on primary day. Thanks to Nancy Hanks for news about SF 13.
Maryland Delegate Veronica Turner (D-Prince Georges County) has introduced HB 2, to increase Maryland filing fees for candidates. The existing fees are $290 for statewide office and $100 for U.S. House of Representatives. The bill increases the statewide fee to $2,000, and also raises the fees for district and local offices.
Maryland has no provision for petitions in lieu of filing fees. Instead, candidates who demonstrate inability to pay the fee are put on the ballot without a fee or a petition. The provision says the State Board of Elections will evaluate the “nature,extent, and liquidity” of the person’s assets.
The New York Conservative Party had its best electoral showing in November 2010, than at any time since 1998, for all levels of federal and state office. Its showing for Governor was the best for the office at the top of the ballot (i.e., President in presidential years and Governor in gubernatorial years) since 1998. Its 2010 gubernatorial showing was 4.99%, for Carl Paladino, who was also the Republican nominee. And the party’s 2010 share of the vote for all the other statewide races was higher than its gubernatorial showing. It polled 5.24% and 5.42% for each of the two U.S. Senate races; 5.44% for Comptroller; and 6.33% for Attorney General. All of its statewide nominees were also Republican nominees.
For U.S. House, the party’s nominees polled 5.96% of the total vote cast in the districts in which the party had nominees. For State Senate, the percentage was 6.68%; for Assembly, 7.64%; for Justice of the Supreme Court, 8.05%. The party ran a nominee in each U.S. House district in 2010, for the first time in its history. It had more legislative nominees this year than at any time since 2002.
In the 2010 U.S. House races, the party nominee was not the same person as the Republican nominee in five districts. In the 23rd district, most commentators believe that the presence of a Conservative Party nominee in that race caused the incumbent Democrat to be re-elected. The vote for the Conservative nominee, Douglas Hoffman, was 10,507 votes, and the margin between the two major party nominees was 1,995 votes.
The party’s low point, in modern times, was 2004, when it polled 2.10% for President, 3.71% for U.S. House in the districts in which it had nominees; 4.20% for State Senate in such districts; 4.03% for Assembly in such districts; and 4.47% for Supreme Court.