On March 31, U.S. District Court Judge John Woodcock heard four hours of testimony and argument in Libertarian Party of Maine v Dunlap, the case that challenges the Maine deadline for a new party to submit at least 5,000 voter registration cards showing the signers as members of that party. The hearing is not complete and will resume next week. See this story. The Libertarian Party argues that the deadline of December 1 in the year before the election is far too early to be constitutional. In 1854, the Republican Party was formed July 6 and went on to win a plurality in the U.S. House of Representatives. That was before there were any ballot access laws or any government-printed ballots.
The news story says the hearing was “heated.”
It is not true that the Republican Party won a plurality in the US House of Representatives in 1854.
There were no state-conducted primary elections in 1854, and thus no need for recognition of political parties. In states like Illinois, where candidates did actually run as “Republican”, the incumbents had run as “Whig” in 1852.
The only reason that California requires recognition of parties for its Top 2 elections is that SOS Debra Bowen was either incompetent or deliberately trying to sabotage Top 2.
If a state recognizes partisan nominations, then it is forced to determine which “parties” may make the nomination. Do away with partisan nominations, as has been done in Louisiana, Washington, California, Nebraska, and most cities, and there is no need for the state to recognize parties.
According to Prof. Ken Mardis wonderful reference book “Historical Atlas of U.S. Congressional Elections”, after the 1854 election the US House had 100 Republicans, 83 Democrats, and 51 members of the American Party. Neither of the two largest parties was willing to support a member of the other party for Speaker, so the American Party choice for Speaker, Nathanial Banks, was elected Speaker. Later he became a Republican.
Too many lawyer and judge MORONS to count.
Every election is NEW — requiring EQUAL ballot access tests for ALL candidates for the same office in the same area.
Could you provide me the ISBN and page number?
Do you have a copy of “United States Congressional Elections, 1788-1997” by Michael J Dubin?
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed in late spring of 1854. Congressional elections were held on varying dates. Over one third (36%) of representatives were elected in 1855, all after the nominal beginning of the term on March 4, 1855. The 34th Congress met on December 3, 1855.
Dubin does note that Mardis did classify the members of the 34th Congress as 100 Opposition, 83 Democrats, and 51 American Party, but goes on to explain that 55 of the Opposition representatives had been elected as Whigs, 44 under various Anti-Nebraska labels, only some of which were “Republican”, and one as an American.
Nathaniel Banks had been elected in 1852 as a Democrat. Because he refused to toe the Democratic line of anti-abolition, he was forced to a runoff which he won with Free Soil support. He ran as an American in 1854, and as a Republican in 1856. After the war he was elected as a Republican, defeated as a Liberal Republican-Democratic fusion candidate, elected as an independent, elected as Republican, defeated for a Republican nomination, and later elected as a Republican.
In 1854, Maine elected 5 Republicans and 1 Democrat. The one Democrat was Thomas Fuller in the 6th District. His plurality 41% to 38% victory was likely due to the presence of a spoiler candidate for the Whigs who received 21% of the vote.
Had Maine used Top 2 in 1854, then (1) new parties could easily form (two incumbent “Whigs” were re-elected as Republicans), and (2) there would have been a runoff in the two districts where there were three strong candidates.
It the state recognition of political parties and conduct of party primaries that is the problem. The solution is NOT to make it somewhat easier for other political parties to be recognized. That simply exacerbates and entrenches the problem. The solution is to eliminate state recognition of political parties and conduct of partisan primaries. The solution is Top 2.
The solution is Proportional Representation — around the 1820s-1840s — i.e. before 1854.
Top 2 is one more giant DISASTER invented by math MORONS — who do NOT what in Hell they are doing and have done to cause things to get even more rotted — see CA — with its JOKE 2D and 2R gerrymander areas in general elections.
BOTH the hacks are extremists — with the voters electing one of the hacks.