The California Libertarian presidential primary ballot will carry nine names: Roger Gary, R. J. Harris, Gary Johnson, Scott Keller, James Ogle, Carl Person, Bill Still, Joy Waymire, and Lee Wrights. The Libertarian presidential primary might be deemed somewhat irrational, because the primary is not until June, and the party will have chosen its nominee in May.
The Libertarian Party didn’t use its presidential primary in California in 1980, 1984, and 1988, because the national convention was before the date of the California primary. In 1992, the only name listed on the Libertarian California presidential primary was Andre Marrou, who was already the nominee.
Starting in 1996, though, the Libertarian Party national conventions were later than the California primary, so the party started holding multi-candidate presidential primaries in California. In 1996, Harry Browne won the primary in a 4-way race and went on to be the nominee. In 2000, Browne won the 5-way California primary and again went on to be the nominee. In 2004, Gary Nolan won the California 3-way primary but was defeated for the party’s nomination at the convention. In 2008, Christine Smith won the 12-person primary but she was not nominated at the national convention.
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Anybody know why the party decided to go ahead with a primary that would be held after the national convention?
In the second half of 2011, the California legislature moved the presidential primary from February to June. No minor party in California or any other state has any control over when the government holds presidential primaries.
The Libertarian Party had set its national convention dates before the California legislature moved the primary date.
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Richard, I linked this at LibertarianRepublican.net
Good report.
If some goofball like Gingrich gets the GOP nomination, a lot of us libertarian Republicans will be looking for someone to support, and that might well be Gary Johnson, (or Donald Trump?).
Richard: I realize that the LP had no influence over when the California primary would be set — but do they have influence over whether their party has to hold a presidential primary at all? You wrote that the LP declined to use its primary in 1980, 1984, and 1988, because the primary would have been held after the national convention. Couldn’t the CA LP tell the Secretary of State, “Just leave our presidential primary off the ballot, as was the case in ’80, ’84, and ’88, because we won’t need it if it’s in June, and that’s one less race you have to count ballots for”?
In the past, even when a party had no candidates listed on its California presidential primary, ballots were printed up for that party. There was always the chance that a write-in candidate would file. Also, when a state party chair says “don’t list any candidates”, the Peace & Freedom Party code section (which all minor parties have used, except the American Independent Party) provided that any presidential candidate whose name was not sent in by the chair could still qualify, with a petition of 1% of the registrants in that party.
More recently, though, the legislature passed a bill saying if a party has no filed candidates, election officials need not print a primary ballot for it.
It is somewhat likely that Americans Elect will ask the Secretary of State not to print up presidential primary ballots for it. It will be interesting to see what the Secretary of State says.
In 1996 the Democratic and Libertarian Parties told the Arizona Secretary of State not to prepare presidential primary ballots for them. But the Secretary of State said “I must”, so those two parties sued, and won. So in Arizona, if a party doesn’t want a presidential primary, it can stop it.
Public nominations for Public offices – totally controlled by PUBLIC laws.
How brain DEAD are the MORON courts ???
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The American Independent Party also has the 1% petition rule in its Section of the California Election Code. Once in its early years, I believe, there was even an Uncommitted Slate on the ballot for President.