As of November 16, all briefs are submitted in Libertarian Party of Ohio v Ohio Secretary of State. The case is in the state court of appeals, 16APE-07-496, Tenth District. The main issue is whether the Ohio Constitution, for over 100 years, has required that the state provide all qualified parties with their own primary.
If the Ohio Constitution does have this characteristic, then the ballot access law passed in 2013 violates the state constitution. The Ohio Constitution says, “Article V, section 7. All nominations for elective state, district, county and municipal offices shall be made at direct primary elections or by petition as provided by law.” Nevertheless, the 2013 session of the legislature provided that newly-qualifying parties nominate without any primary. To try to comply with the state constitution, the 2013 law said that everyone nominated by a newly-qualifying party (which itself had to qualify with a petition of approximately 53,000 valid signatures) needs his or her own small petition.
The state points out that I said in testimony some years ago that I believe it is good public policy that small qualified parties nominate by convention instead of by primary. The state is correct. Nevertheless, that does not excuse the fact that regardless of what good policy is, the 2013 bill is in conflict with the state constitution. The Ohio legislature ought to have set in motion a revision of Article V of the state constitution. Instead, it took the easy way out and tried to ignore that state constitutional provision.
Here is the state’s brief, and here is the party’s reply brief.
How many third parties had primaries in 1888-1932 — before the oligarchs made it much more difficult for third parties to exist ???
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NO primaries.
Ballot access in final election only via equal nominating petitions.
P.R. and nonpartisan App.V.
No primaries? So we have 20 candidates from each party run in the general? So 3% of the vote wins the election?
Only the state legislature is competent to interpret the Ohio Constitution with regard to how nominations are provided for by law. SOS Blackwell was at best able to offer a rationale why the statutes were the way that they were at the time.
Ohio could also eliminate the segregated partisan primaries, and switch to a Top 2 primary; or a modified blanket pick-a-party primary. Voters would select a party on the ballot, but could vote for any candidate for each office. A party could designate which votes counted for any nomination. Nomination would require a threshold of support (say 5%). If a party failed to qualify a candidate, the candidate could qualify as an independent candidate.
AMC — Sorry NO.
I suggest that the 5 highest win in each district and have a Voting Power equal to the votes each gets from the voters and from losers — both majority rule and minority representation — and especially PARTY responsibility for the LAWS.
OH mess – *direct primary elections* was a phrase to have robot party hack primaries after official ballots and official primaries came along in 1888-1890 — to replace the robot party hack dictatorship conventions – controlled by tyrant party hack bosses.
How many third parties in Ohio DID HAVE primaries in the past — esp from 1888 to 1932 ???
Populist Party ??? Progressive Party ??? any of the many socialist parties ???
I think no primaries…