This article about Mindy Finn, vice-presidential running mate for Evan McMullin, quotes her as saying “One path is a new party.”
Evan McMullin and Mindy Finn are on the ballot in eleven states. In five of those states, the ticket could not have got on the ballot if prior minor party and independent presidential candidates hadn’t won lawsuits against ballot access laws.
The McMullin-Finn ticket got on the ballot in Arkansas, using that state’s relatively easy procedure for newly-qualifying parties that only want to run for President and Vice-President. That procedure only exists because in 1976, Eugene McCarthy sued almost all the states that didn’t have procedures for independent presidential candidates to get on the ballot, and he won all those cases. Arkansas had been one of the states with no procedure for independent presidential candidates. The Arkansas legislature was motivated to create an easy procedure for president to comply with the McCarthy victories.
The McMullin-Finn ticket had a much easier petition requirement in Idaho, because Ralph Nader won a lawsuit against the high number of signatures for independent presidential candidates in Idaho in 2010. In Daien v Ysursa, 711 F Supp 2d 1215, the U.S. District Court struck down the 1% petition requirement for independent presidential candidates (which would have been 6,524 signatures if the lawsuit hadn’t been won). Idaho then lowered it to 1,000 signatures.
The McMullin-Finn ticket got on in Kentucky because John Anderson sued Kentucky over the old April petition deadline in 1980, and won the case. Kentucky then moved that deadline to September. Because McMullin did not announce until August 2016, obviously he could not have qualified in Kentucky if Anderson hadn’t won the 1980 case.
The McMullin-Finn ticket got on in New Mexico, using the petition procedure for new parties. The Better for America Party successfully petitioned in New Mexico in June. McMullin hadn’t announced at that time, but a group searching for a candidate like McMullin organized in June and completed that petition. That petition drive would not have been possible if the New Mexico Constitution Party hadn’t won its 2012 lawsuit against the old New Mexico April petition deadline for new parties.
The McMullin-Finn ticket got on in Utah because in 1984, independent presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche sued Utah to overturn its April petition deadline for independent presidential candidates. LaRouche won that lawsuit and the state moved that deadline to August. Without that lawsuit, McMullin would not have been in time to get on the ballot in Utah.
Not withstanding all the assistance that prior ballot access activism had done to benefit McMullin, the McMullin campaign has refused to join in any efforts to ease the ballot access laws. Even though he said he would sue states with unconstitutional ballot access laws, he did not do so. He could have made a huge contribution to ballot access improvement if he had sued Florida and Texas. He had very strong potential cases in those states, but he did not act. Thanks to Gene Berkman for the link.
While Rocky De La Fuente’s campaign has gotten almost no media attention, his campaign seems like it will have a positive impact on voting laws. Unlike McMullin, De La Fuente has sued a large number of states that refused to put him on the ballot.
McMullin is getting votes by running as an Independent Republican. Third party talk will hurt him.
Many think the GOP needs to be replaced. Even Sarah Palin has talked about a “Freedom Party”.
SAME, MORE, LESS — S-T-A-T-I-S-M — for about 6,000 years of recorded history.
About ZERO new and different — except for the names of the KILLER statists and how many People they kill and/or enslave.
It seems McMullin, or his backers, are purposefully running for a single election without influencing the election framework. De La Fuente, on the other hand, seems to be intentionally building ballot access for a future run, or to leave a political legacy in the ADP.
We will begin to see over the next year or so what happens. But I believe there will be a shake up in the Republican causing one faction or another to bolt and begin the process of creating a new party. I have always thought that the break up of a major party can open the door for more third parties with the softening of ballot laws.
Who is this Mindy Finn.?Also have you heard about the hacker attacks .I bet they have some spectacular incident on Election day.which would bother me