1. Is that on the SoS web page?

2. Yes.

3. Do you have the total for other parties (if there is such a thing in that state)?

4. Any unqualified party can request that California elections officials tally their registrants. But the only unqualified parties that have done so, besides the Reform Party, are: (1) Christian, 105 registrants; More Money for Women Party, 23; New World 13; Anarchy & Poverty 7; Utopia Manifesto 3.

5. Registration forms have check boxes for each qualified party and permit “write-in” party names, which are tallied as “miscellaneous”, which had 121,006 in the latest report. Non-affiliated voters are counted as “Declined To State” with 3.442 million.

   An unqualified party can request a tally of its registrants (counted among the miscellaneous registrants). When a party loses its qualified status there will be an increase in the number of miscellaneous voters, and when a party qualifies (via registration count), the number of miscellaneous voters drops.

   Currently, the miscellaneous voters include the Reform Party, which lost its qualified status after 2002; and whatever registrants remain from the Natural Law Party which lost its qualified status after 2006; and perhaps 80,000 voters who registered as affiliates of other parties, which may be real or imagined.

6. Some people write in “Independent” in the space for “other parties” and they get counted as “miscellaneous” instead of in the official category for independents, which is called “Declines to state”. So there aren’t really that many miscellaneous registrants in California.

7. Why aren’t voters who register as “Independent” considered to be affiliated with the Independent Party?

8. Jim Riley and Richard Winger,

   TO: Richard Winger;

   Explain why people that right down in a space call
   “other parties” the term “independent” get counted
   as “miscellaneous”? Neither “independent” nor “declined to state” is a party in California?
   The American Independent Party has been the only
   one of the three quilified Parties under SB 28
   that makes that a difference in primary elections,
   viz. “Declines to State” may vote American Independent Party”, but “miscellaneous” may not
   vote in primary elections under SB 28.

   To: Jim Riley

   There is no qualified party in California named
   the Independent Party, but there is a party that
   has been in California since 1967 named the American Independent Party. On June 27, 2009 the
   AIP State Central Committee affliated with the
   America’s Independent Party of Fenton, Michigan
   (our national party). Last year we ran for President Ambassador Dr. Alan Keyes and for Vice
   President Pastor Dr. Wiley Drake of the 1st Baptist
   Church of Buena Park, CA.

   Sincerely, Mark Seidenberg, Vice Chairman,
   American Independent Party

9. Sorry, just caught a spelling error I made is the last post. I stated to “richard” the words “right
   down”, I errored it should of read “wrote down”.

   Second on the comment to “Jim Riley”, I gave an
   incorrect date. They date I gave was “June 27, 2009”, that was an error, it should have “June 27,
   2008”.

   Sorry for the errors in the above post.

   Sincerely, Mark Seidenberg, Vice Chairman, American
   Independent Party

10. #8. The election code (Section 2151) provides that “the voter registration card shall inform the affiant that any elector may decline to state a political affiliation.”

    A party designation on the registration card is an expression of an intent to affiliate with the party at a subsequent primary. So a registrant who declines to state his party, is expressing no intent to affiliate with any party.

    It is up to each party whether voters who declined to state their intent to affiliate with any party may participate in that party’s primary. A voter who expressed an intent to affiliate with another party may not vote in that primary.

    Since voters are expressing an intent to affiliate at the time of a subsequent primary, they may specify the name of a party that is not qualified (to nominate) and perhaps does not formally exist. Since the registration form explicitly explains the meaning of “declined to state”, a voter who expresses intent to affiliate with the Independent party must be presumed to be helping the Independent Party qualify.

11. #8 The election code (Section 2187) provides that county election officials shall compile the (1) number of voters who intend to affiliate with each qualified party; (2) the total number intending to affiliate with non-qualified party; (3) and the number of voters to declined to state a party affiliation. The Secretary of State makes a statewide compilation of these report.

    It is the second category that is reported as “other” or “miscellaneous”. The Secretary of State changed the column heading from “miscellaneous” to “other” in 2006. “non-qualified parties” might be a more correct designation, though that might suggest that all the parties are attempting to qualify.

    I don’t see why the election officials would reclassify an “Independent” voter to a “declined to state”, given the clear distinction that the election law makes, including the requirement that the meaning of “declined to state” be included on the registration form.

    The voters in the American Independent primary nominated Don Grundmann to be their presidential candidate, just as the voters of the Democratic, Green, and Libertarian parties nominated Hillary Clinton, Ralph Nader, and Christine Smith to be their respective candidates. California statutes are in clear contradiction of the California Constitution.

    Dr. Alan Keyes, Barack Obama, Cynthia McKinney, and Bob Barr were all impostor candidates.

12. To Jim Riley,

    Reply to post # 11. You asseverated that Alan Keyes and Barack Obama and others “were all impostor candidates”.

    Please explain why you came to that view?

    Sincerely, Mark Seidenberg, Vice Chairman, American Independent Party.

13. To Jim Riley

    It was on July 5, 2008 that by a convention of the
    American Independent Party in the auditorium of the
    California Secretary of State Building located in
    Sacramento nominated Ambassador Dr. Alan Keyes for
    President and Pastor Dr. Wiley Drake of the 1st Baptist Church of Buena Park, CA as Vice President.

    Therefore, my suggest is remove Dr. Alan Keyes from
    your list or explain why you believe why he should
    be on such a list.

    Sincerely, Mark Seidenberg, Vice Chairman, American
    Independent Party

14. The California Constitution says:

    Article 2, Section 5 (a) The Legislature shall provide for primary elections for partisan offices, including an open presidential primary whereby the candidates on the ballot are those found by the Secretary of State
    to be recognized candidates throughout the nation or throughout California for the office of President of the United States, and those whose names are placed on the ballot by petition, but excluding any candidate who has withdrawn by filing an affidavit of noncandidacy.
    (b) A political party that participated in a primary election for a partisan office has the right to participate in the general election for that office and shall not be denied the ability to place on the general election ballot the candidate who received, at the primary election, the highest vote among that party’s candidates.

    According to subsection (a), the presidential primary is a primary election for a partisan office. And according to subsection (b) the winner of the primary election is to be placed on the general election ballot.

    Don Grundmann won the AI presidential primary.

15. To: Jim Riley

    Thank you for the above comment. However, in April, 2008 at the Constitution Party Convention
    in Kansas City, Dr. Don Grundmann informed me he
    did not want to vote for himself for President of
    the United States and selected another person to
    vote for as President of these United States. Don
    Grundmann just changed his mind about running for
    that office of President. At that point in time
    Dr. Don Grundmann wanted to run for Vice President
    of these United States.

    On July 5, 2008, the Convention of the American
    Independent Party meet in the auditorium of the
    California Secretary of State Building in Sacramento, California. Dr. Don Grundmann was a
    delegate to that convention and was present. He
    spoke from the floor at the 2008 AIP Convention.
    During the 2008 American Independent Party Convention the delegates voted and selected Ambassador Dr. Alan Keyes for President and Pastor
    Dr. Wiley Drake of the 1st Baptist Church of Buena
    Park, CA for Vice President.

    I was the elected Chairman of the 2008 American
    Independent Party Convention and the head of the
    California delegation to the Kansas City Convention. It should be note on June 27, 2008 the American Independent Party State Central Committee joined the America’s Independent Party
    of Fenton, Michigan as it’s California affiliate
    party.

    Jim Riley now will you take the American Independent Party off your list?

    Sincerely, Mark Seidenberg, Vice Chairman, American
    Independent Party

16. It makes the whole process of primaries meaningless if the candidates after winning nomination can simply quit and let the party bosses choose someone else.

    Hopefully the voters of California will approve Top 2 and also apply it to presidential elections.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.