NEW ELECTION RULES IN MAINE, TEXAS, AND UTAH BOOSTED MINOR PARTY 2020 VOTE

In November 2020, different election rules in Maine, Texas, and Utah were in effect for the first time. As expected, in all three states, the new rules boosted the minor party vote. In Maine, the new rule was the use of ranked choice voting for president. In Texas and Utah, the new rules were the elimination of the straight-ticket device. Texas eliminated it in 2018 but the change was not effective until 2020. Utah eliminated it in 2020.

Maine: the Green Party benefited from ranked choice voting for federal office. (Maine still doesn’t have ranked choice voting in general elections for state office). For president, Howie Hawkins received slightly more than 1.00% of the Maine vote, which was much higher than his vote of .34% throughout the nation in the states in which he was on the ballot.

Maine was Hawkins’ best state. Second place, Hawaii, was .67%, and no other state was higher than .52%. It is true that Green Party presidential candidates generally do better in Maine than in the remainder of the country, but not that much better. In 2016, Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein received a higher percentage of the vote in five states than she did in Maine: California, Hawaii, Kansas, Oregon, and Vermont.

In the U.S. Senate race, the Green Party was helped by ranked choice voting to an even greater extent. Its nominee Lisa Savage received 4.95%, which is the highest percentage of the vote ever received in Maine for any third party U.S. Senate candidate. Savage has been the only minor party candidate for either house of congress since Maine first used ranked choice voting for congress in 2018.

The Libertarian Party was on the Maine ballot for president, but not other federal office. Jo Jorgensen’s percentage in Maine was 1.73%, which was higher than her national showing of 1.18%. She received a higher percentage of the vote in Maine than in any other state in the east.

The only other minor party on in Maine was the Alliance Party, which ran Rocky De La Fuente. He had not been on the ballot in Maine in 2016 when he was an independent candidate, and the Alliance Party had not existed in 2016, so it is difficult to draw conclusions about his vote. He was on the ballot in 2020 in fifteen states, and Maine was his fifth best state.

Texas: the only minor party on the ballot in both 2018 and 2020 was the Libertarian Party. Here are the percentages for the Libertarian Party for each type of lower-ticket office, in both 2018 and 2020, excluding races with only one major party candidate in the race:

OFFICE	2018	2020
Judicial	2.28	2.46
Education	2.52	3.02
US Senate	.78	1.88
US House	1.66	2.43
St Senate	2.29	2.78
St House	2.21	2.73

For each type of office, the Libertarian Party support in 2020 was significantly higher than in 2018.

Utah: the simplest way to show how the repeal of the device increased the minor party vote is to look at the 2020 races for Auditor and Treasurer, two races in which the Democratic Party had no nominee.

This was the first year since 2000 when one of the Utah major parties had skipped running a full slate of statewide nominees. When that happens, the minor party vote is always quite large anyway; but in 2020 it was quite a bit higher than in 2000. In 2000, for Treasurer, the vote was: Republican 82.94%; Libertarian 12.73%; Natural Law 4.33%. In 2020, the vote for Treasurer was: Republican 74.57%; Libertarian 14.89%; Constitution 10.54%. For Auditor in 2020: Republican 74.79%; United Utah 12.97%; Constitution 12.24%.

On December 10, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in Carney v Adams. This case challenged the Delaware law that says only members of parties with registration above 5% may become judges, except for two minor types of court.

The ruling says that the plaintiff, a registered independent, lacks standing. He had let his bar membership become inactive, and had not applied for a judicial appointment. The very same day the decision came out, the plaintiff, James R. Adams, filed a new case in U.S. District Court. During 2020 he had taken steps to ensure that he does have standing. Obviously he anticipated that the Court might rule he lacked standing, and he got ready to try again. The new case is Adams v Carney, 1:20cv-1680. It is disappointing that the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the case on standing, because a decision on the merits would almost certainly have a landmark decision affirming the need to treat independent and minor party members equally.

Supporters of more inclusive general election presidential debates have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their lawsuit, Level the Playing Field v Federal Election Commission, 20-649. The Libertarian and Green Parties are co-plaintiffs. During December, three amicus curiae briefs were filed on the side of expanding the debates.

One brief, organized by the Independent Voters Project, and joined by former U.S. Senators Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, and former New Jersey Governor Christy Todd Whitman, argues that the status quo hurts independent and minor party presidential candidates and voters.

Another brief, by Fairvote, argues that polling data is unreliable, so the rule that candidates must show 15% support in certain polls is inherently ambiguous.

Still another brief, by a group of scholars and business leaders, argues that the Commisison on Presidential Debates directors have conflicts of interest, and that the CPD rules do not protect against conflict of interest.

The FEC has already asked for more time to respond., and now has until January 13.

On December 4, U.S. District Court Judge Charles Lovell, a Reagan appointee, upheld a Montana law that bars out-of-state petitioners for initiatives. Pierce v Stapleton, 6:18cv-63. He ignored most of the precedents that have struck down residency requirements for petitioners. He wrote, "Plaintiffs have not demonstrated that there are not enough Montana residents to serve as circulators or that Montana residents are inferior communicators." It is likely there will be an appeal.

On December 28, independent presidential candidate Kyle Kopitke asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear has case against the North Carolina ballot access law for independent presidential candidates, which for 2020 required a petition of 70,666 signatures due March 3, 2020. The Fourth Circuit had upheld those requirements, notwithstanding that in 1983, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Anderson v Celebrezze that Ohio’s independent presidential petition deadline of March 20 was too early. The Fourth Circuit opinion upholding the North Carolina deadline appears to have been written by judges who were completely oblivious to the Anderson holding. The North Carolina case is Kopitke v Bell, case number not assigned yet.

Kopitke was on the ballot as an independent presidential candidate in 2020 in two states. It is not unheard of for the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case brought by a presidential candidate who was on in only two states. It heard Mitchell v Donovan, 398 US 427, in 1970, even though Charlene Mitchell, the 1968 Communist Party presidential candidate, was only on in two states.

The Coalition for Free & Open Elections paid for the brief printing. COFOE gets all its income from readers of this newsletter.

CALIFORNIA COURT EXTENDS DEADLINE

On November 6, a California state trial court extended the deadline for a recall petition, due to the health crisis. Heatlie v Padilla, Sacramento County Superior Court, 34-2020-800003499. The recall is for Governor Gavin Newsom. The statutory deadline was November 17, 2020, but the court extended it to March 17, 2021, due to the health crisis.

SECOND AND SIXTH CIRCUITS HEAR BALLOT ACCESS CASES

During December, two U.S. Appeals Courts heard ballot access cases. On December 15 the Second Circuit heard SAM Party v Cuomo, 20-3047, over the new strict definition of "political party" in New York. On December 16 the Sixth Circuit heard Graveline v Benson, 20-1337, over Michigan’s requirement that statewide independents need 30,000 signatures. Both hearings went well, although the Michigan decision will probably be 2-1 in favor of the plaintiff.

ALASKAN INDEPENDENCE PARTY SUES OVER TOP-FOUR

On December 1, the Alaskan Independence Party filed a state court lawsuit to overturn the top-four initiative passed in November 2020. The case is based on freedom of association for political parties, and relies on a 2005 decision of the Alaska Supreme Court that said the Alaska Constitution gives parties more freedom to run their affairs than the U.S. Constitution does. The case name is Kohlhaas v State, 3AN-20-09532. The Alaskan Independence Party is the second-listed plaintiff.

HIGH COURT SHOWS INTEREST IN MINNESOTA CASE

On December 14, the U.S. Supreme Court asked the Minnesota Secretary of State to file a response in De La Fuente v Simon, 20-612. This is the case over Minnesota’s law that gives a political party complete control over which presidential candidates may appear on that party’s presidential primary ballot. Rocky De La Fuente, who sought the Republican nomination earlier in 2020, filed the case after the Minnesota Republican Party voted to keep everyone off its presidential primary ballot except for President Trump. Minnesota’s response is due January 13.

2020 U.S. HOUSE VOTE

~	Democratic	Republican	Libt.	Green	Wk Fam	Constit’n	other (1)	other(2)	indp
Alabama	608,809	1,416,012	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Alaska	159,856	192,126	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Arizona	1,629,318	1,638,516	67	0	0	0	0	0	0
Arkansas	330,485	828,266	20,645	0	0	0	0	0	0
Calif.	11,084,234	5,640,667	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Colorado	1,679,052	1,378,248	79,100	0	0	0	23,401	1,441	3,708
Conn.	1,022,060	676,632	3,901	14,647	38,171	0	16,738	0	0
Del.	281,382	196,392	3,814	0	0	0	6,682	0	0
D.C.	281,831	0	9,678	5,553	0	0	6,702	0	20,560
Florida	4,942,287	5,469,164	0	0	0	0	0	0	46,194
Georgia	2,393,089	2,490,396	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hawaii	354,762	155,215	6,785	0	0	0	6,453	661	2,659
Idaho	255,531	561,405	24,393	0	0	8,573	0	0	0
Illinois	3,355,487	2,416,929	75,406	9,408	0	0	0	0	0
Indiana	1,194,901	1,738,745	62,798	0	0	0	0	0	0
Iowa	762,271	859,418	15,361	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kansas	557,258	775,898	25,797	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kentucky	735,419	1,363,964	14,079	0	0	0	2,431	0	0
Louisiana	727,402	1,244,254	28,406	0	0	0	18,522	0	3,017
Maine	468,978	340,236	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Md.	1,912,740	1,028,150	0	6,893	0	0	0	0	0
Mass.	2,482,596	771,061	0	0	0	0	0	0	48,392
Michigan	2,688,527	2,617,881	59,958	15,637	0	4,450	36,115	0	0
Minn.	1,554,373	1,474,820	0	0	0	0	80,440	79,674	0
Miss.	421,121	806,859	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Missouri	1,172,135	1,723,982	75,554	0	0	0	0	0	0
Montana	262,340	339,169	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Nebraska	326,018	585,234	30,046	0	0	0	0	0	0
Nevada	665,526	633,827	24,958	0	0	31,296	0	0	0
N. Hamp.	413,895	354,045	18,866	0	0	0	0	0	0
N. Jersey	2,539,128	1,843,047	10,120	0	0	0	0	0	40,628
N. Mex.	495,781	407,786	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
N. York	4,716,970	2,705,667	42,473	13,897	350,752	0	300,178	59,169	7,472
No. Car.	2,660,535	2,631,336	19,596	5,503	0	7,555	0	0	0
No. Dak.	97,970	245,229	12,024	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ohio	2,451,500	3,252,887	56,774	0	0	0	75	0	0
Okla.	475,731	1,044,175	19,347	0	0	0	0	0	12,130
Oregon	1,285,339	966,786	33,603	18,990	0	0	0	0	0
Penn.	3,346,712	3,432,595	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
R.I.	312,636	109,894	0	0	0	0	0	0	63,757
S.Car.	1,076,799	1,412,684	0	0	0	13,899	0	0	0
S.Dak.	0	321,984	75,748	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tenn.	1,105,537	1,685,255	0	0	0	0	0	0	50,909
Texas	4,896,673	5,926,712	222,388	5,135	0	0	0	0	41,265
Utah	505,946	873,347	28,518	0	0	8,889	15,077	0	0
Vermont	238,827	95,830	0	0	0	0	3,432	0	16,206
Virginia	2,253,974	2,047,635	0	0	0	0	0	0	9,170
Wash.	2,340,356	1,545,436	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
W.Va.	246,903	514,268	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Wisc.	1,566,671	1,661,399	0	0	0	0	0	0	7,911
Wyoming	66,576	185,732	10,154	0	0	7,905	0	0	0
TOTAL	77,404,247	72,627,195	1,110,357	95,663	388,923	82,567	516,246	140,945	373,978

The U.S. House vote chart is final, except that the New York 22nd district results are still not final and will change slightly. No one yet knows who won because the race is so close. The “other(1)” column is: Co., Unity; Ct., Independent Party; Del., Independent Party; Hi., Aloha Aina; Ky., Populist; La., Independent Party; Mi., Working Class; Mn., 80,440 Legal Marijuana Now; N.Y., Conservative; Oh., American Solidarity; Ut., United Utah; Vt., Communist. The “other(2)” column is Co., Approval Voting; Hi., American Shopping; N.Y., Independence 50,328 and SAM 8,841.

2020 U.S. SENATE VOTE

~	Democratic	Republican	Lib’t.	Green	Constit.	Legal	Indp Pty	other	indepnt
Alabama	920,478	1,392,076	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Alaska	146,068	191,112	0	0	0	0	0	16,806	0
Arkansas	0	793,871	399,390	0	0	0	0	0	0
Colorado	1,731,114	1,429,492	56,262	0	0	0	0	18,791	0
Delaware	291,804	186,054	5,244	0	0	0	7,833	0	0
Georgia	2,374,519	2,462,617	115,039	0	0	0	0	0	0
Idaho	285,864	537,446	0	0	10,188	0	0	0	25,329
Illinois	3,278,930	2,319,870	75,673	56,711	0	0	0	237,699	0
Iowa	754,859	864,997	36,961	0	0	0	0	0	13,800
Kansas	571,530	727,962	68,263	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kentucky	816,257	1,233,315	85,386	0	0	0	0	0	0
Louisiana	730,989	1,267,291	11,321	0	0	0	7,811	0	54,131
Maine	347,223	417,645	0	40,579	0	0	0	0	13,508
Mass.	2,357,809	1,177,765	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Michigan	2,734,568	2,642,233	0	39,217	50,597	0	0	13,093	0
Minn.	1,566,522	1,398,145	0	0	0	190,154	0	57,174	0
Miss.	578,806	709,539	23,152	0	0	0	0	0	0
Montana	272,463	333,174	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Nebraska	227,191	583,507	55,115	0	0	0	0	0	0
N.H.	450,778	326,229	18,421	0	0	0	0	0	0
N.J.	2,541,178	1,817,052	0	38,288	0	0	0	0	43,922
N.M.	474,483	418,483	24,271	0	0	0	0	0	0
No. Caro.	2,569,965	2,665,598	171,571	0	67,818	0	0	0	0
Okla.	509,763	979,140	34,435	0	0	0	0	0	33,023
Oregon	1,321,047	912,814	42,747	42,239	0	0	0	0	0
R.I.	328,574	164,855	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
So. Car.	1,110,828	1,369,137	0	0	32,845	0	0	0	0
So. Dak.	143,987	276,232	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tenn.	1,040,691	1,840,926	0	0	0	0	0	0	78,080
Texas	4,888,764	5,962,983	209,722	81,893	0	0	0	0	0
Virginia	2,466,500	1,934,199	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
W.Va.	210,309	547,454	21,155	0	0	0	0	0	0
Wyoming	72,766	198,100	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TOTAL	38,116,627	40,081,313	1,454,128	298,927	161,448	190,154	15,644	343,563	261,793

The "other" column is: Ak., Alaskan Independence; Co., Approval Voting 9,820 and Unity 8,971; Il., Willie Wilson Party; Mi., Natural Law; Mn., Legal Marijuana Now 190,154 and Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis 57,174.

2020 GUBERNATORIAL VOTE

~	Democratic	Republican	Libertarian	Green	Constitution	other	independent
Delaware	292,903	190,312	3,270	0	0	6,150	0
Indiana	968,094	1,706,727	345,567	0	0	0	0
Missouri	1,225,771	1,720,202	49,067	17,234	0	0	0
Montana	250,860	328,548	24,179	0	0	0	0
N.Hamp.	264,639	516,609	11,329	0	0	0	0
No. Car.	2,834,790	2,586,604	60,449	0	20,934	0	0
No. Dak.	90,789	235,479	13,853	0	0	0	0
Utah	442,754	918,754	51,393	0	0	25,810	0
Vermont	0	248,412	0	0	0	99,214	16,206
Wash.	2,294,243	1,749,066	0	0	0	0	0
W. Va.	237,024	497,944	22,527	11,309	0	0	15,120
TOTAL	8,901,867	10,698,657	581,634	28,543	20,934	72,305	31,326

The “other” column is: De., Independent Party; Utah, Indp. American; Vt., Progressive; W.Va., Independent Party (write-in votes). "Legal" in the U.S. Senate chart means Legal Marijuana Now Party.

2020 PRESIDENTIAL VOTE

	Biden	Trump	Jorgen	Hawkins	De La Fuente	La Riva	Kanye W.	Blanknship	Pierce
Al	849,624	1,441,170	25,176	?	?	?	?	?	?
Ak	153,778	189,951	8,897	?	318	?	?	1,127	825
Az	1,672,143	1,661,686	51,465	1,557	?	190	?	?	?
Ar	423,932	760,647	13,133	2,980	1,321	1,336	4,099	2,108	2,141
Ca	11,110,250	6,006,429	187,895	81,029	60,160	51,037	?	?	185
Co	1,804,352	1,364,607	52,460	8,986	636	1,035	8,089	5,061	572
Ct	1,080,680	715,291	20,227	7,538	13	?	257	?	?
De	296,268	200,603	5,000	2,139	0	14	169	0	5
DC	317,323	18,586	2,036	1,726	?	855	?	?	693
Fl	5,297,045	5,668,731	70,324	14,721	5,966	5,712	?	3,902	?
Ga	2,473,633	2,461,854	62,229	931	?	152	?	61	?
Hi	366,130	196,864	5,539	3,822	0	0	0	931	1,185
Id	287,021	554,119	16,404	407	1,491	49	3,632	1,886	2,808
Il	3,471,915	2,446,891	66,544	30,494	?	8,046	?	18	?
In	1,242,416	1,729,519	59,232	988	?	?	?	?	?
Ia	759,061	897,672	19,637	3,075	1,082	?	3,210	1,707	544
Ks	570,323	771,406	30,574	?	?	?	?	?	?
Ky	772,474	1,326,646	26,234	716	?	98	6,483	?	3,599
La	856,034	1,255,776	21,645	0	0	987	4,897	860	749
Me	435,072	360,737	14,152	8,230	1,183	?	?	?	?
Md	1,985,023	976,414	33,488	15,799	26	125	1,117	?	16
Ma	2,382,202	1,167,202	47,013	18,658	?	?	?	?	?
Mi	2,804,040	2,649,852	60,381	13,718	2,986	?	?	7,235	?
Mn	1,717,077	1,484,065	34,976	10,033	5,611	1,210	7,940	75	5,651
Ms	539,508	756,789	8,026	1,498	?	?	3,657	1,279	659
Mo	1,253,014	1,718,736	41,205	8,283	?	64	?	3,919	?
Mt	244,786	343,602	15,252	?	?	?	?	?	?
Ne	374,583	556,846	20,283	?	?	?	?	?	?
Nv	703,486	669,890	14,783	0	0	0	0	3,138	0
NH	424,921	365,654	13,235	217	?	?	82	?	?
NJ	2,608,335	1,883,274	31,677	14,202	2,728	2,928	?	2,954	?
NM	501,614	401,894	12,585	4,426	?	1,640	?	?	?
NY	5,230,985	3,244,798	60,234	32,753	20	376	1,897	43	22,587
NC	2,684,292	2,758,773	48,678	12,195	?	?	?	7,549	?
ND.	114,902	235,595	9,393	?	?	?	?	?	?
Oh	2,679,165	3,154,834	67,569	18,812	?	?	?	?	?
Ok	503,890	1,020,280	24,731	0	0	0	5,597	?	2,547
Or	1,340,383	958,448	41,582	11,831	?	?	?	?	?
Pa	3,459,923	3,378,263	79,397	?	?	?	?	?	?
RI	307,486	199,922	5,053	?	923	847	?	?	?
SC	1,091,541	1,385,103	27,916	6,907	1,862	0	0	0	0
SD	150,471	261,043	11,095	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tn.	1,143,711	1,852,475	29,877	4,545	1,860	2,301	10,279	5,365	?
Tx	5,259,126	5,890,347	126,243	33,396	?	350	?	?	?
Ut	560,282	865,140	38,447	5,053	?	1,139	7,213	5,551	2,623
Vt	242,820	112,704	3,608	1,310	48	166	1,269	208	100
Va	2,413,568	1,962,430	64,761	?	?	?	?	?	?
Wa	2,369,612	1,584,651	80,500	18,289	?	4,840	?	?	?
WV	235,984	545,382	10,687	2,599	?	9	0	25	5
Wi	1,630,866	1,610,184	38,491	1,089	?	110	411	5,146	?
Wy	73,491	193,559	5,768	?	?	?	?	?	2,208
TOTAL				404,952	88,234	85,616	70,298	60,148	49,700

The above presidential vote chart has final returns, except that: (1) the Pennsylvania totals are not yet final because the state is waiting for a court to tell it whether to count a small number of postal ballots that arrived after election day; (2) Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island still haven’t revealed the write-in totals

There were 12 presidential candidates who were on the ballot in at least four states, but the chart only has room for nine. American Solidarity Party nominee Brian Carroll got 39,188 votes from these states: Ar. 1,713; Ca. 2,605; Co. 2,515; Ct. 220; De. 87; Fla. 854; Ga. 660; Id. 163; Il. 9,548; In. 893; Ky. 408; La. 2,497; Md. 795; Mi. 963; Mn. 1,037; Ms. 1,161; Mo. 664; N.Y. 805; Oh. 1,450; R.I. 767; Tn. 762; Tx. 2,785; Ut. 368; Vt. 209;Wi. 5,259. Socialist Workers Party nominee Alyson Kennedy got 6,791 votes: Co. 354; La. 536; Mn. 643; Tn. 2,576; Vt. 195; Wa. 2,487. Prohibition Party nominee Phil Collins got 4,856: Ar. 2,812; Co. 568; Il. 3; Md. 10; Ms. 1,317; N.Y. 9; Vt. 137.

MAINE LEGISLATOR REGISTERS AS A LIBERTARIAN

On December 14, Maine state representative John Andrews changed his registration from "Republican" to "Libertarian". He had been re-elected in November 2020 as a Republican. He has been in the legislature since 2018. He is the first legislator to join the Libertarian Party at a time when the Libertarian Party is not a ballot-qualified party in that particular state. Other legislators who switched mid-term to the Libertarian Party, in Nebraska, Nevada, and New Hampshire, always did so only when the party was qualified. The Libertarian lawsuit to regain its qualified status is pending in U.S. District Court.

GEORGIA LEGISLATOR SWITCHES FROM DEMOCRAT TO INDEPENDENT

On December 7, Georgia state representative Valencia Stovall announced that she has changed her affiliation from Democratic to independent. However, she did not run for re-election, so her term is about to end.

ALLIANCE PARTY GAINS AFFILIATES

The Alliance Party, the centrist party that ran Rocky De La Fuente in 2020, has recently gained some state affiliates. It is now ballot-qualified in Mississippi, and is also qualified in Connecticut for most office because the Independent Party of Connecticut recently affiliated. Also the Florida Reform Party recently affiliated, as did the New York Independence Party.