D.C. REPEALS RESIDENCY RESTRICTION FOR PETITIONERS

On December 18, the Washington, D.C., City Council unanimously passed Bill 19-1058, which repeals the ban on out-of-district petition circulators. The bill had been introduced on November 28. It had been brought up before the Council on December 4, but did not pass that day. The bill repeals the ban, but says that out-of-DC circulators must register with the Board of Elections working. Also, it says that if out-of-DC circulators don’t register, the signatures they collect are invalid.

The bill had been attacked on the blog www.dcwatch.com on December 12 and again on December 16. Blogger Dorothy Brizill said if the bill were enacted, fraud would occur. She argued that in 2004, proponents of an initiative to legalize gambling had committed fraud and had used out-of-district circulators. This argument is faulty, and her attempt to defeat the bill did not work.

The bill was supported by the Mayor, the City Council Chair, and the chair of the D.C. Board of Elections. The bill was introduced because the Libertarian Party had filed a federal lawsuit against the ban on July 30, and attorneys for the Board thought the better course was for the Board to simply repeal the residency requirement, and put an end to the lawsuit. The case is Libertarian Party v Danzansky, 1:12-cv-1248.

The only states that still outlaw out-of-state circulators are California, Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvana, South Dakota, and Virginia. The Maine and North Dakota bans only affect ballot measures. The South Dakota ban only affects ballot measures and candidate petitions, but not petitions to qualify a new party. The Virginia ban was invalidated earlier this year but the state is appealing.

The District of Columbia ban on out-of-district circulators has existed for approximately twenty years. The ban is one reason no conservative presidential candidate, running outside the two major parties, has ever appeared on the ballot in D.C. For instance, in 2000, when Pat Buchanan was the Reform Party nominee, he did not get on the ballot in D.C., even though he had been born there and had lived much of his life in the District. He did appear on the ballot in 49 of the 50 states (all but Michigan). No presidential nominee of the Constitution Party has ever been on the D.C. ballot either.

On December 10, the Initiative & Referendum Institute asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its case over the postal regulation that won’t let passersby sign a ballot access petition on postal interior sidewalks. The ACLU is now representing the Institute. The case is Initiative & Referendum Institute v Postal Service, 12-722.

In the 2012 election, the percentage of voters who voted other than "Democratic" or "Republican" for U.S. House, in the districts in which such other choices were on the ballot, was 5.8%. Only 246 districts had an "other" choice on the ballot. In the entire nation, including all the districts (both those with an "other" choice and those without), Democrats received 48.9% of the total vote; Republicans received 47.8%; and minor party and independent candidates received 3.3%.

Because 246 districts is only 56% of all the districts, if one calculates the "other" percentage in just the districts with an "other" choice on the ballot, one arrives at the 5.8% figure.

In 2010, the national "other" vote in all the districts had also been 3.3%. However, in 2010, 300 districts had an "other" choice on the ballot. The main reason for the decline in the number of districts with a choice other than "Democratic" or "Republican" is that starting in 2012, California used the top-two system. Whereas in 2010, under the old system, 29 California districts had a choice other than the two major parties, in 2012 only four California districts had such a choice.

Here is the percentage of the vote received by "other" candidates for U.S. House over the past 22 years (including all the districts, not just the districts with an "other" choice on the ballot):

1990	2.5%	2002	3.6%
1992	4.2%	2004	2.7%
1994	2.8%	2006	2.5%
1996	3.1%	2008	3.1%
1998	3.8%	2010	3.3%
2000	4.2%	2012	3.3%

For purposes of these calculations, the District of Columbia Delegate is included in the list of seats, so that the nation is deemed to have 436 races for U.S. House. Also, for purposes of the calculation, write-in votes cast for scattered or miscellaneous names are excluded, since it is virtually impossible to classify these names into any particular party’s column, nor the independent column either. Write-ins are included when the write-in candidate was officially nominated by a political party, and that party was not on the ballot.

Alabama: the lawsuit filed almost a year ago by the Constitution, Green and Libertarian Parties, against the March petition deadline for newly-qualifying parties, is still far from a decision. Recently the state deposed Gary Johnson and Jill Stein. As far as is known, no state has ever deposed the presidential nominees of plaintiff political parties in any ballot access case before. The state seems determined to find some evidence that will help it defend the March deadline, in the face of a 22-year old precedent from the 11^th circuit that even April is too early for this type of petition (Alabama is in the 11^th circuit).

Arizona: on November 3, oral argument was held in Az. Libertarian Party v Bennett, over the state’s voter registration form. It lists the Democratic Party and the Republican Party and gives a checkbox for each party. If a voter wants to register into any other party, or wishes to register "independent", the voter must write-in that choice on a small blank line. The case was filed by the Green and Libertarian Parties, both of which are entitled to their own primary and both of which will be assisted in remaining on the ballot if enough voters register into those parties. The hearing went well and a decision is expected soon.

California: the 9^th circuit will hold an oral argument in Chamness v Bowen in Pasadena on February 13. This is the case that challenges the law that says candidates who are not registered members of qualified parties must appear on the ballot, for Congress and state office, with the label "no party preference." The term "independent" is permitted for presidential independent candidates, but not independent candidates for Congress or state office.

California(2): an Alameda County Superior Court must issue a ruling in Rubin v Bowen on or before January 9. The hearing was held on October 9 and decisions must be issued within three months.

The issue is whether the minor parties who filed this case against the top-two system are entitled to a trial, to present evidence that the system unconstitutionally injures voting rights for voters who wish to vote for minor party members for Congress or state office.

District of Columbia: the Libertarian Party is about to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Libertarian Party v D.C. Board of Elections. The issue is whether election officials must tally all valid votes, including valid write-in votes for presidential candidates who file a declaration of write-in candidacy. The District of Columbia Board of Elections invites candidates to file such a declaration of candidacy, along with a list of presidential elector candidates, but then won’t count those write-in votes. This case arose in 2008 when Bob Barr failed to get on the ballot but filed for write-in status. The Coalition for Free & Open Elections (COFOE) is helping to pay for the appeal. Donations to COFOE have been essential in permitting this case to go ahead.

Hawaii: a trial will be held on August 6 in Justice Party v Nago, U.S. District Court, 1:12cv403. The issue is the February deadline for newly-qualifying parties to submit a petition. The Hawaii primary is not until August, so the February petition deadline seems unnecessarily early. Back in 1986, when the deadline was in April, another U.S. District Court enjoined the April deadline and said it was too early, but the legislature ignored the ruling.

Illinois: on December 17, the Green Party filed a lawsuit against a ballot access law that says if a nonqualified party wants to run someone in the special U.S. House, 2^nd district, special election in April, it must submit 15,682 valid signatures before February 4. Jones v McGuffage, northern district., 12-cv-9997.

New York: on December 20, a U.S. District Court in Brooklyn heard Credico v New York State Board of Elections, 1:10-cv-4555.

The issue is the discriminatory law that says when two qualified parties jointly nominate the same candidate, his or her name appears on the ballot twice (and voters can choose which label to support) but when two unqualified parties jointly nominate the same candidate, the name can be listed only once, and the candidate must choose one of the two lines. The hearing went well; the state focuses mostly on procedural objections to the lawsuit, instead of defending the law. The case is over two years old; it originated in 2010 when both the Libertarian Party and the Anti-Prohibition Party nominated the same person for U.S. Senate.

Oklahoma: on December 17, the Green and Libertarian Parties voluntarily dismissed their ballot access lawsuit, which challenged the March 1 petition deadline for newly-qualifying parties. The original complaint had not charged that the law mandating primaries for newly-qualifying parties is itself unconstitutional, in the context of a June primary. The attorney for the parties had asked the court for permission to amend his complaint in June, but the judge simply refused to rule on the request. Because six months had passed, the parties decided it will be better to file an entirely new lawsuit around the 2014 election. In the meantime, it is possible the legislature will improve the law.

Tennessee: on November 30, the Sixth Circuit issued a 20-page opinion in Green Party of Tennessee v Hargett, 12-5271. It sent the case back to the U.S. District Court for more evidence-gathering concerning the issue of whether the Democratic and Republican Parties should always get the top line on the ballot.

Virginia: the 4^th circuit will hear Libertarian Party of Virginia v Judd during the week of March 19-22. This is the challenge to the state ban on out-of-state circulators. The party won in the lower court and the state appealed. The state is mostly arguing procedure, instead of substance.

State legislators in Alabama, California, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Virginia have already said they will introduce bills in 2013 to improve ballot access. Efforts are being undertaken to find sponsors in Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Maryland, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Wyoming.

The only ballot access improvement bill that already has a number is Virginia SB 690, which lowers the number of signatures for all presidential candidates (whether running in a presidential primary or in the general election) from 10,000 to 5,000. Senator Richard Black (R-Great Falls) is the author.

Already the bill deadline has passed in Indiana, and no bill to lower the number of signatures was submitted. However, a bill to eliminate the straight-ticket device was submitted. In Montana, where the petition deadline for independent candidates (for office other than President) was declared unconstitutional six months ago, no legislator has introduced a bill to repair the problem, and the deadline for new bills has passed, although there are ways around that deadline.

The Socialist Workers Party has long enjoyed an exemption from federal campaign laws that require candidates to file reports, listing the people who make campaign contributions. The exemption expired on December 31, 2012, and the party has asked the FEC to renew it.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that because the party had shown that individuals identified with the party are likely to be harassed, the Court said the party should be exempt. But the exemption doesn’t last forever. The party has submitted evidence that the harassment problem still exists.

Official California election returns show that in the 31
^st U.S. House district, where only two Republicans appeared on the ballot, over 22% of the voters who voted for President abstained from voting for Congress.

The district has many more registered Democrats than Republicans. The vote for President within the district, which is in San Bernardino County, was: President Obama 118,043; Mitt Romney 83,822; Gary Johnson 2,027; Roseanne Barr 822; Jill Stein 807; Tom Hoefling 721; various write-ins for President 853; total 207,095.

But, for U.S. House, the vote was: Gary Miller 88,964; Bob Dutton 72,255; total 161,219.

The reason only two Republicans, and no other candidates, were on the November ballot for Congress is the California top-two system. Proponents of that system delight in November elections that force all voters to choose just one of two members of the same party. They say that will force major party candidates to be more "moderate" or "centrist." But, in this case, both Republicans were conservatives, and they did not reach out to "moderate" themselves. As a result, 45,876 voters simply left the ballot blank. The district would almost certainly have elected a Democrat to Congress, if the voters had been permitted to do so.

The Voting Wars: From Florida 2000 to the Next Electionby Law Professor Richard Hasen, 239 pages, 2012.

Professor Hasen has for many years been the nation’s leading expert on election law. He has published several books and hundreds of scholarly articles about election law.

His interest ranges over all aspects of election law. This is his first attempt to write a book intended for a general audience.

The Voting Wars makes a very convincing case that U.S. election administration is in a shambles. He wrote the book before the November 2012 election. As we now know, there were no states in which the recent presidential election was truly close between President Obama and Mitt Romney. Also, there were no other statewide elections in November 2012 that required a recount. But, there could have been, and certainly in the future there will be.

The book gives clear and interesting explanations of the issues in the controversial recounts in Florida in 2000 for President, in Washington state for Governor in 2004, and in Minnesota for U.S. Senate in 2008, all of which were decided with margins of less than 600 votes. These recounts excited passions to the boiling point. Hasen justifiably believes that the future stability of the United States is at risk, unless election administration is drastically improved. Most democratic countries have found a way to have election administration administered by non-partisan experts, but the United States has not. We have big problems with voter registration, vote-counting equipment, polling place accessibility, and voter information. Furthermore, election administration is often in the hands of very partisan public officials, and that sows distrust.

Hasen is aware that he is perceived, correctly, as a Democrat, and he leans over backward to be fair to both "sides" in the controversies he discusses. The book does not deal with ballot access, or campaign finance, or voting rights for ex-felons or for the territories, or the Electoral College. However, readers of this newsletter would find Hasen’s book to be a good read. Once I started reading, I was unable to put it down until I had finished it. It illuminated many election law fights that I had heard about previously, but which I had not understood very well.

~	Democratic	Republican	Libertarn.	Green	Wk Fam	Constit’n	other (1)	other(2)	indepndnt
Alabama	693,498	1,233,624	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Alaska	82,927	185,296	15,028	0	0	0	0	0	5,589
Arizona	946,994	1,131,663	82,282	5,637	0	0	6,740	0	0
Arkansas	304,770	637,591	37,987	57,706	0	0	0	0	0
Calif.	7,392,703	4,530,003	0	0	0	0	0	0	281,642
Colorado	1,080,061	1,143,616	85,764	33,526	0	29,353	0	0	77,885
Conn.	884,398	490,580	3,511	9,115	66,883	0	9,710	0	2,290
Del.	249,933	129,757	4,096	4,273	0	0	0	0	0
D.C.	228,376	0	16,524	13,243	0	0	0	0	0
Florida	3,392,402	3,826,522	11,176	0	0	0	17	0	282,809
Georgia	1,448,869	2,104,098	0	58	0	0	14	0	0
Hawaii	285,008	137,531	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Idaho	208,297	406,814	12,265	0	0	0	0	0	7,607
Illinois	2,743,702	2,207,818	0	32,404	0	0	10	0	73,848
Indiana	1,142,554	1,351,760	59,429	0	0	0	0	0	0
Iowa	772,387	726,505	0	0	0	0	6,286	0	30,291
Kansas	195,505	740,981	121,253	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kentucky	684,744	1,027,582	4,914	0	0	0	0	0	28,137
Louisiana	359,190	1,143,027	124,572	0	0	0	0	0	78,828
Maine	427,819	265,982	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Maryland	1,626,872	858,406	69,298	10,104	0	0	0	0	0
Mass.	2,080,594	697,637	16,739	0	0	0	0	0	84,595
Michigan	2,327,985	2,086,804	102,141	25,379	0	22,793	3,251	0	12,791
Minn.	1,560,984	1,210,409	0	0	0	0	36,433	9	0
Miss.	411,398	703,635	21,566	0	0	2,390	64,581	0	4,605
Missouri	1,119,554	1,463,586	87,774	0	0	4,971	0	0	0
Montana	204,939	255,468	19,333	0	0	0	0	0	0
Nebraska	275,205	494,933	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Nevada	453,310	457,239	13,986	0	0	25,185	0	0	24,022
N. Hamp.	340,925	311,636	29,457	0	0	0	0	0	0
N. Jersey	1,794,301	1,430,325	9,396	11,183	0	1,082	406	3,881	30,027
N. Mex.	422,192	343,241	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
N. York	3,897,953	1,947,575	2,986	40,915	219,104	366	262,972	80,233	3,482
No. Car.	2,218,357	2,137,167	24,142	0	0	0	0	0	0
No. Dak.	131,870	173,585	10,261	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ohio	2,412,085	2,620,233	81,469	26,070	0	0	0	0	0
Okla.	410,324	856,872	16,921	0	0	0	0	0	41,818
Oregon	949,660	687,839	19,870	20,675	0	12,518	15,009	0	0
Penn.	2,793,442	2,710,070	6,210	0	0	0	0	0	34,988
R.I.	232,679	161,926	0	0	0	0	0	0	32,716
S.Car.	714,191	1,026,129	6,334	16,310	28,614	0	0	0	0
S.Dak.	153,789	207,640	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tenn.	796,513	1,369,562	4,382	40,100	0	0	0	0	72,616
Texas	2,949,900	4,429,270	246,587	32,872	0	0	0	0	5,354
Utah	324,309	647,873	6,439	0	0	14,481	0	0	5,795
Vermont	208,600	67,543	0	0	0 < /td>	0	4,065	0	9,455
Virginia	1,806,050	1,876,699	0	2,195	0	0	21,712	0	26,868
Wash.	1,636,726	1,369,540	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
W.Va.	254,803	380,590	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Wisc.	1,445,015	1,401,995	6,054	0	0	0	0	0	15,331
Wyoming	57,573	166,452	8,442	0	0	4,963	0	0	0
TOTAL	59,536,235	57,972,629	1,388,588	381,765	314,601	118,102	431,206	84,123	1,273,389

Parties in the "Other(1)" column are Americans Elect in Arizona, Independent Party in Connecticut, Socialist Workers in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa; Natural Law in Michigan; Independence in Minnesota; Reform in Mississippi and New Jersey; in New York, 257,439 Conservative and 5,533 Socialist Workers; Progressive in Oregon; Liberty Union in Vermont; Independent Green in Virginia. Parties in the "Other(2)" column are Socialist Workers in Minnesota; Democratic-Republican Party in New Jersey; and Independence in New York.

~	Democratic	Republican	Libertarn.	Green	Constit.	Wrk Fam	Indepnce	other	indepndnt
Arizona	1,036,542	1,104,457	102,109	0	0	0	0	0	0
California	7,864,624	4,713,887	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Conn.	792,983	604,569	25,045	0	0	35,778	0	46,520	0
Delaware	265,415	115,700	0	3,191	0	0	0	15,300	0
Florida	4,523,451	3,458,267	0	0	0	0	0	19	208,168
Hawaii	269,489	160,994	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Indiana	1,281,181	1,133,621	145,282	0	0	0	0	0	0
Maine	92,900	215,399	5,624	0	0	0	0	0	386,676
Maryland	1,474,028	693,291	32,252	0	0	0	0	0	430,934
Mass.	1,696,346	1,458,048	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Michigan	2,735,826	1,767,386	84,480	27,890	26,038	0	0	11,229	0
Minn.	1,854,595	867,974	0	0	0	0	73,539	30,531	13,986
Miss.	503,467	709,626	0	0	15,281	0	0	13,194	0
Missouri	1,494,125	1,066,159	165,468	0	0	0	0	0	0
Montana	236,123	218,051	31,892	0	0	0	0	0	0
Nebraska	332,979	455,593	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Nevada	446,080	457,656	0	0	48,792	0	0	0	0
N. J.	1,987,680	1,329,534	16,803	15,801	0	0	0	2,249	24,582
N. Mex.	395,717	351,260	0	0	0	0	0	28,199	617
N. York	4,420,043	1,514,647	31,894	42,442	0	250,580	138,255	240,819	21,985
No. Dak.	161,337	158,401	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ohio	2,762,690	2,435,712	0	0	0	0	0	0	250,616
Pennsyl.	3,021,364	2,509,132	96,926	0	0	0	0	0	0
Rhode I.	271,034	146,222	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tenn.	705,882	1,506,443	20,936	38,472	18,620	0	0	0	29,836
Texas	3,194,927	4,440,137	162,354	67,404	0	0	0	0	0
Utah	301,873	657,608	0	0	31,905	0	0	8,342	7,172
Vermont	0	72,898	0	0	0	0	0	8,435	211,177
Virginia	2,010,067	1,785,542	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Wash.	1,855,493	1,213,924	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
W.Va.	399,939	240,787	0	19,517	0	0	0	0	0
Wisconsin	1,547,104	1,380,126	62,240	0	70	0	0	0	16,455
Wyo.	53,019	185,250	0	0	0	0	0	6,176	0
TOTAL	49,988,323	39,128,301	983,305	214,717	140,706	286,358	211,794	411,013	1,602,204< /font>

Parties in the "Other" column are Independent Party in Connecticut and Delaware; Socialist Workers in Florida; Natural Law in Michigan; Grassroots in Minnesota; Reform in Mississippi; Socialist in New Jersey; Independent American in New Mexico; Conservative in New York; Justice in Utah; Liberty Union in Vermont; Country in Wyoming.

~	Democratic	Republican	Libertarian	Green	Constitution	Liberty Union	U.S. Marijuana	indp.
Delaware	275,993	113,793	3,668	4,575	0	0	0	0
Indiana	1,200,016	1,275,424	101,868	0	0	0	0	0
Missouri	1,494,056	1,160,265	73,509	0	0	0	0	0
Montana	236,450	228,879	18,160	0	0	0	0	0
N.Hamp.	378,934	295,026	19,251	0	0	0	0	0
No. Car.	1,931,580	2,440,707	94,652	0	0	0	0	0
No. Dak.	109,048	200,525	2,618	0	0	0	0	5,356
Utah	277,622	688,592	22,611	0	17,696	0	0	0
Vermont	170,749	110,940	0	0	0	1,303	5,583	5,868
Wash.	1,582,802	1,488,245	0	0	0	0	0	0
W. Va.	335,468	303,291	8,936	16,791	0	0	0	0
TOTAL	7,992,718	8,305,687	345,273	21,366	17,696	1,303	5,583	11,224

Greens in California: Mayor, Marina, Bruce Delgado; Live Oak School District Trustee, Santa Cruz County, Phyllis Greenleaf; Geyserville School District Trustee, Kimberly Ann Petersen; Canyon, Contra Costa County, School District Trustee, Karen L. Pickett; Fair Oaks Water District Director, Sacramento County, Randy Marx; Eureka Water Board, Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap; Montecito Fire Protection District Director, John Abraham Powell.

Greens in D.C.: Advisory Neighborhood Commission, Carolyn Steptoe, Joyce Robinson-Paul and Renee Bowser.

Greens in Maine: Portland City Council, Kevin Donoghue and David Marshall; Portland School Committee, Holly Seelinger.

Greens in Minnesota: City Council, Crystal, Laura Libby; City Council, Hilltop, John Matheson.

Libertarian in Arizona: Continental Elementary School District Board, Ruth Bennett.

Libertarian in Arkansas: Prairie Grove Alderman, Casey Copeland.

Libertarians in California: Mountain View City Council, John Inks; Palm Desert City Council, Susan Marie Weber; Purissima Hills Water District, Brian Holtz.

Libertarian in Texas: Lago Vista City Council, Ed Tidwell.

The December 1 2012 BAN omitted these partisan wins:

Green in Michigan: Newberg Township Clerk, Cass County, Korine Bachleda.

Libertarians in Louisiana: Atlanta Alderman, Randall Hayes; Sikes Alderman, Michael Riffe.

Also, the voter registration chart total for the "other" column should be 1,654,727, not 2,899,474. All the entries in that column are correct except the total, and the percentages are all correct.

In the 2014 petitioning chart, the chart should not have showed the Arizona Green Party is on the ballot. However, the party will be on the ballot if it can get its registration up to two-thirds of 1% by November 2013. Also in that chart, the Alabama petition requirement for 2014 for statewide independents is 44,829, not 5,000.

Jill Stein, Green Party presidential nominee, polled .36% of the vote for President in November 2012. Th
at makes her the top vote-getting female presidential candidate in U.S. general elections. The previous record had been held by Lenora Fulani in 1988; she was on the ballot in all states and polled .24%.

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