Kentucky elects its statewide state offices in November of the odd years before presidential elections. This year, the Kentucky ballot will include one independent candidate for Governor, Gatewood Galbraith; and one Libertarian Party nominee for Treasurer, Ken Moellman. Each needed at least 5,000 valid signatures. Galbraith submitted 7,496; Moellman submitted 8,100. Both petitions have been approved.
This is the first time the Libertarian Party has ever been on the Kentucky ballot for a statewide office, in a non-presidential year. Neither the Green Party nor the Constitution Party has ever been on the statewide Kentucky ballot in a non-presidential year. There were no independent or minor party candidates on the Kentucky statewide ballot in 2007, nor in 2003.
All four states holding gubernatorial elections this year have at least one minor party or independent candidate on the ballot for Governor. The other states with gubernatorial elections this year are West Virginia, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
What percentage of the vote must the LP nominee for Treasurer poll to automatically qualify the party statewide?
The Kentucky vote test only applies to presidential candidates, and is 2%. Kentucky is the only state in the nation with a vote test for a party to remain on the ballot that ignores all statewide offices except President.
Wow! That really stinks. Has it ever been challenged?
#3, there is not a single federal court precedent from any state, striking down any state’s definition of “political party.”
If there were ever a Kentucky party formed that was only interested in Kentucky state and local government, and it showed that it was able to get 2% for statewide state office, but that it had no interest whatsoever in running a presidential candidate, that hypothetical party would be in a very good position to challenge the Kentucky law. But there has never been such a party like that in Kentucky. There have been many one-state parties in these states in the past or present: Alabama, Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, D.C., Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Ken Moellman ?? Wasn’t he the former chairman of the GOP and an outed homosexual? Euuuhhwwww!
nope, different guy
ken4ky.com
you are thinking of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Mehlman note the different spelling.
Also, while this Ken is not gay, he is not anti-gay either.
Go Galbraith!! And go Moellman!!
Kentucky laws are unusual, and should be replaced.
Acccording the Kentucky law (http://www.lrc.ky.gov/KRS/118-00/015.PDF):
“A “political party” is an affiliation or organization of electors representing a political policy and having a constituted authority for its government and regulation, and whose candidate received at least twenty percent (20%) of the total vote cast at the last preceding election at which presidential electors were voted for;”
KRS 118.325 (http://www.lrc.ky.gov/KRS/118-00/325.PDF) states:
“Any political organization not constituting a political party within the meaning of KRS 118.015 but whose candidate received two percent (2%) of the vote of the state at the last preceding election for presidential electors may nominate, by a convention or primary election held by the party in accordance with its constitution and bylaws, candidates for any offices to be voted for at any regular election, except the office of member of a board of education, for which nominations shall be made as provided in KRS 160.220. Any political party, as defined in KRS 118.015, and any political organization not constituting such a political party but whose candidate received two percent (2%) of the vote of the state at the last preceding election for presidential electors, may nominate, by a convention or primary election held by the party or organization in accordance with its constitution and bylaws, as many electors of President and Vice President of the United States as this state is entitled to elect.”
However, when dealing with the Presidential primaries, the laws defining a party are different (http://www.lrc.ky.gov/KRS/118-00/551.PDF):
“As used in KRS 118.561 to 118.651, “political party” means each political party whose candidates received ten percent (10%) or more of the vote for Governor and Lieutenant Governor in the preceding election, or has a registration equal to ten percent (10%) or more of the total registered voters in the Commonwealth.”
I sure wish Galbraith had run in a political party rather than as an independent, because I think he’ll get at least 10% of the vote and would like to see the two-party system here shaken up some. In 2000, if the Reform Party wanted a Presidential Primary in Kentucky, they could have had one, because Galbraith got more than 10% when he ran for Governor in 1999 under the Reform Party banner.
#9, the Kentucky Reform Party wanted its own presidential primary in 2000, but Kentucky election officials said the fact that the Reform Party had got over 10% for Governor in 1999 was no help, because it hadn’t polled 20% for President in 1996. Both requirements must be met for a party to have a presidential primary, the state said.