CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS TRY TO VASTLY TOUGHEN RULES FOR PRIMARY SEASON MATCHING FUNDS

Starting in 1984, minor party presidential candidates have used primary season matching funds to help pay for petitioners to get on the ballot. Now, Democrats in Congress propose to make eligibility for primary season matching funds five times more difficult. H.R. 1 and S.1 make many election law changes. Among the changes are increasing the difficulty of receiving primary season matching funds. Current law requires small donations totalling at least $5,000 from each of twenty states. The bills raise that to $25,000 from each of twenty states.

Minor party presidential candidates who have received primary season matching funds, and the amounts, are as follows:

YEAR	NAME	AMOUNT
1984	Sonia Johnson	193,735
1988	Lenora Fulani	905,744
1992	Lenora Fulani	1,989,966
1992	John Hagelin	276,954
1996	John Hagelin	246,961
2000	Pat Buchanan	4,326,522
2000	Ralph Nader	723,307
2000	John Hagelin	650,347
2004	Ralph Nader	891,969
2008	Ralph Nader	881,494
2012	Gary Johnson	632,016
2012	Jill Stein	333,331
2016	Jill Stein	590,935

It is unlikely that any of these candidates would have been able to qualify if the new proposal had been in effect in the past.

And without these matching funds, it is unlikely that the candidates named above would have been able to get on the ballot in as many states as they did. Therefore, the effect of H.R.1 and S.1 will be to limit voter choices in future elections, if the bills are signed into law.

There is extensive press coverage of these bills, but virtually none on the part of the bills changing the rules for primary season matching funds eligibility.

Howie Hawkins applied for matching funds in 2020, and the FEC has not yet released his funds. That is a large reason why Hawkins was only on the ballot in 29 states plus D.C. in 2020, whereas Jill Stein, who did get the funds in time to use them for ballot access, got on in 44 states plus D.C.

S.1 still hasn’t been introduced, but it will be introduced any day, and it will almost certainly be identical to H.R.1. Speaker Nancy Pelosi is a co-sponsor of H.R. 1.

Although state legislatures are getting a slow start in 2021, bills to implement the National Popular Vote Plan bill have already been introduced in Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. Among these twelve states, the only one with with a Democratic majority in both houses of the legislature and a Democratic Governor is Virginia.

On January 25, the Virginia Board of Elections agreed to settle a ballot access lawsuit that had been filed a month earlier. Petitions for statewide office in 2021 will require 2,000 signatures instead of 10,000. Also only fifty signatures will be needed in each of the eleven U.S. House districts, instead of 400.

Also signers will be free to photograph their signatures and e-mail the photo to the candidate or group that is sponsoring the petition, and those signatures will be valid. This is the first time Virginia has used electronic signatures. The case was filed by two Democratic candidates in the June 2021 primary, but it applies to all statewide petitions in 2021, including petitions for independent candidates and the nominees of unqualified parties. Goldman v State Board of Elections, Richmond city circuit court, CL20006468.

The statewide offices up in 2021 are Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General.

Bills to repeal straight-ticket devices have been introduced in Indiana, Kentucky, and Oklahoma. The Indiana bill, HB 1195, has a Republican sponsor. The Kentucky bill, HB 71, has a Democratic sponsor. The Oklahoma bills, SB 46 and HB 1016, have Democratic sponsors. The only other states that still have the device are Alabama, Michigan, and South Carolina.

In Iowa, HB 134 would bring back the device. The bill is sponsored by ten Democrats.

Congressmember Steve Cohen (D-Tn.) has introduced HJR 14, a proposed constitutional amendment to eliminate the Electoral College and replace it with a nationwide popular vote. Unlike previous proposed amendments, it deals with ballot access. It says, "The times, places, and manner of holding such elections and entitlement to inclusion on the ballot shall be determined by Congress."

The resolution has eight co-sponsors: Zoe Lofgren, Anna Eshoo, Julia Brownley, and John Garamendi of California; Jim Cooper of Tennessee; Adriano Espaillat of New York; and Janice Schakowsky of Illinois. All are Democrats.

The Constitution has always been ambiguous about whether Congress can pass laws on ballot access in presidential elections. If this proposed amendment were to pass, that would end the ambiguity, and would end state control over presidential ballot access.

In nine previous sessions of Congress, bills have been offered to outlaw state ballot access laws for President that were in excess of one-tenth of 1% of the last vote cast in any particular state.

D.C. Statehood: HR 51, the bill to make most of the District of Columbia a state, has 204 co-sponsors.

Term Limits: HJR 12, which would impose term limits on members of Congress, has 44 co-sponsors. The limits would be two terms for U.S. Senators and three for U.S. Representatives. The same bill has been introduced in the Senate by six Republican Senators, but it doesn’t have a bill number yet. The sponsors are Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Braun and Todd Young of Indiana, Marco Rubio and Rick Scott of Florida, and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.

Delaware: many legislators are sponsoring HB 30, which moves the non-presidential primary from September to April. Unfortunately, Delaware says the deadline to qualify a new party is three weeks before the primary. So the bill, if passed, would cause the deadline to move from July to March. It is not sensible for Delaware to tie the deadline for new party qualification to the date of the primary, because all small and new parties nominate by convention.

Indiana: Representative Ethan Manning (R-Denver) has introduced HB 1134. It would require the nominees of qualified minor parties (which nominate by convention) to submit 4,500 signatures for their presidential, gubernatorial, and U.S. Senate nominees. This idea lacks any logic, because qualified parties that nominate by convention have already showed they have a modicum of support, so it follows logically that their nominees do as well.

This bill appears to be an attempt to injure the Libertarian Party, the only qualified minor party. The party polled 11% for Governor last year, the highest showing for a gubernatorial candidate running outside the major parties since 1912.

Indiana(2): Representative Ryan Dvorak (D-South Bend) has introduced HB 1130. It lowers the number of signatures for statewidee independent candidates, and the nominees of unqualified parties, from 2% of the last Secretary of State vote (44,935 signatures) to 4,500 signatures. It also lowers the vote test from 2% to 2,500 votes.

New Hampshire: Representative Max Abrahamson (R-Seabrook) has introduced HB 570. It would let a group that has at least 500 registered members become a qualified minor party, and that group would nominate by convention, with no need for petitions.

The existing law does not allow a group to be qualified unless it polls 4% for either Governor or U.S. Senator, and there are no ballot-qualified parties except the Republican and Democratic Parties.

The bill also expands the definition of a qualified major party. The existing law requires a 4% vote for either Governor or Seuator. The bill adds President.

New Hampshire(2): three representatives have introduced HB 98, which moves the non-presidential primary from September to the first Tuesday in June. Because New Hampshire ties the date of the primary to the filing deadline for independent candidates and the nominees of unqualified parties, if the bill passes, the petition deadlines will move from August to May. And the deadline for independent candidates and the nominees of unqualified parties to file a declaration of candidacy would move from June to March. That would certainly be unconstitutional as applied to independent presidential candidates.

New Mexico Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino (D-Albuquerque) has introduced SB 100. It would legalize fusion, the ability of two parties to nominate the same person. Such a candidate’s name would appear twice on the ballot, with a box for each party label, so the voter could choose which party to support. The only other states that have this type of fusion are Connecticut, New York, and South Carolina.

On January 25, New Jersey Governor Philip Murphy issued an order, authorizing electronic signatures on candidates petitions during 2021. This is a continuation of the policy that was in effect in 2020, and is due to the health crisis. It applies to both primary petitons and general election petitions.

Arizona: Representative John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills) has introduced HB 2314. It would allow the Secretary of State to remove the names of presidential elector candidates from the November ballot. Currently Arizona is the most populous state that still prints their names on the ballot. They take up quite a bit of space on the ballot.

California: Senator Bill Dodd (D-Napa) has introduced SB 103. It would provide that if a presidential elector votes for someone other than the presidential candidate who carried California, that elector is deemed to have resigned and will be replaced on the spot.

Connecticut: Senator Matt Lesser (D-Middletown) has introduced SB 138. It has the same content as the California bill described in the paragraph above.

Nebraska: Senator Julie Slama (R-Auburn) has introduced LB 76. It would end the practice of every U.S. House district electing its own presidential elector. Instead, it would elect all electors on a statewide basis. In both 2008 and 2020, one of Nebraska’s U.S. House districts voted for the Democratic nominee, even though the statewide vote was Republican.

Maryland: Delegate Dana Stein (D-Pikesville) has introduced HB 202, which, like the California and Connecticut bills above, would replace presidential electors who vote for someone other than the candidate who carried their state.

Mississippi: Representative Gregory Holloway (D-Hazlehurst) has introduced HB 1183, which would let each U.S. House district elect its own presidential elector. One district, the 2^nd, would probably choose a Democratic elector.

Oklahoma: Senator Nathan Dahm (R-Broken Arrow) has introduced SB 33, which would let the legislature choose the presidential electors.

That provision would be automatically repealed if Congress were to pass a bill mandating that all states require voters to show a government photo ID in order to vote, and also that all states use vote-counting machines with a paper trail.

Wisconsin: Representative Gary Tauchen (R-Bonduel) has introduced LRB-0513/1. It provides that each U.S. House district would elect its own presidential elector.

Arizona: Representative Tim Dunn (D-Yuma) has introduced HB 2378, to let any city or county use ranked choice voting for its own officer elections.

Georgia: Representative Wes Cantrell (R-Woodstock) has introduced HB 59, to allow overseas absentee voters to use RCV. Then, if there is a general election runoff, or a primary runoff, there would be no need to send such voters another ballot.

Maine: Senator David Miramant (D-Knox) has introduced LD 202, to change the state constitution and allow RCV to be used for state office general elections. Currently Maine uses RCV for federal office, and primaries for state office, but not state office general elections.

Minnesota: bills in each house would establish RCV for all federal and state office. HF 89 has 26 co-authors, and SF 218 has two co-authors. All the sponsors are Democrats.

Oregon: Senator Jeff Golden (D-Ashland) has introduced SB 343, to let cities and counties use RCV for their own elections.

Utah: Representative Mike Winder (R-West Valley City) has introduced HB 127, to use RCV in all primaries.

Washington: HB 1156 would allow cities and counties to use RCV for their own elections. It has 27 co-sponsors.

This is What Democracy Looked Like: A Visual History of the Printed Ballot, by Alicia Yin Cheng, Victoria Bassetti, and Julian Zelizer, 2020. 176 pages, hardcover. Princeton Architectural Press. $21.45.

Although this is a history of U.S. ballots, it could also be described as a picture book. The vast majority of pages are pictures of old ballots. Two-thirds of these pictures are ballots in use before there were government-printed ballots. Generally these old ballots were designed, printed and distributed by political parties, and these ballots only had the nominees of that particular party.

The ballots had a list of candidates on one side. On the other side they often had pictures of their leading nominees, and reasons to vote for them. Some of the ballots were deliberately designed to make it difficult for a voter to cross out certain names and replace them with someone else.

Color was important for ballots back then, because that made it easier for watchers at the polls to see which ballot any voter was using. The book uses color printing.

The ballots pictured are scarce. Laws required voted ballots to be destroyed after the election, so not too many have survived.

The book explains that before paper ballots were used, voting was oral. Surprisingly, in Kentucky, all voting was required to be oral, until 1890. Paper ballots were not used until then.

The final one-third of the book has pictures of government-printed ballots, which have changed drastically over the years. Ballots in presidential years were far larger in the past, because states printed the names of all the presidential elector candidates and let voters pick and choose.

~	Lib’t	Wrk Fam	Green	Constit	Indpndc	Indp Pty	other(1)	other(2)	indp.
Alaska	474	0	0	0	0	0	2,012	1,919	33,361
Arizona	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	39,900
Arkansas	12,564	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3,676
Calif.	76,377	0	41,100	0	0	0	0	0	157,133
Colorado	70,239	0	1,688	0	0	0	633	0	0
Conn.	291	25,003	773	0	0	41,132	176	0	3,694
Del.	638	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Florida	5,506	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	32,224
Georgia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1,130
Hawaii	1,636	0	0	0	0	0	15,045	573	0
Idaho	17,441	0	0	8,213	0	0	0	0	0
Illinois	62,388	0	20,992	5,092	0	0	0	0	43,981
Indiana	10,875	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4,186
Iowa	8,788	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3,182
Kansas	3,865	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1,070
Kentucky	16,425	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5,093
Maine	0	0	5,399	0	0	0	0	0	24,427
Mass.	0	0	1,100	0	0	0	0	0	56,261
Michigan	8,628	0	7,549	1,521	0	0	6,388	638	804
Minn.	0	0	0	0	0	0	8,780	7,509	0
Missouri	11,604	0	1,008	2,150	0	0	0	0	1,414
Montana	7,993	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2,019
Nevada	13,002	0	0	4,757	0	0	0	0	4,134
N. Hamp.	775	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2,667
N. Mex.	10,707	0	765	0	0	0	0	0	4,183
N. York	19,879	254,463	5,923	0	109,184	0	301,261	4,689	51,919
No. Car.	42,333	0	612	0	0	0	0	0	7,227
No. Dak.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	971
Ohio	4,130	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	16,426
Okla.	815	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5,043
Oregon	13,595	5,264	2,463	0	0	0	0	0	0
Penn.	23,268	0	9,799	0	0	0	0	0	14,276
R.I.	2,995	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	16,693
S.Car.	17,443	0	256	1,805	599	0	6,986	1,650	0
S.Dak.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3,174
Tenn.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	63,028
Texas	156,883	0	2,341	0	0	0	0	0	0
Utah	2,395	0	0	10,403	0	0	38,765	846	0
Vermont	302	0	0	0	0	0	18,504	0	23,930
Wash.	52,024	0	0	0	0	0	15,452	0	81,176
W.Va.	3,303	0	3,236	0	0	0	0	0	1,656
Wisc.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	14,853
Wyoming	6,322	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4,807
TOTAL	685,903	284,730	105,004	33,941	109,783	41,132	414,002	17,824	729,718

2018 totals for State House were: Libertarian 534,645; Working Families 186,050; Green 130,882; Constitution 16,537; Independence Parties 95,483; Independent Parties 42,056; other parties 344,5431; independent candidates 601,971.

Parties in the other(1) column above are: Ak., Alaskan Independence; Co., Unity; Ct., Socialist Resurgence; Hi., Aloha Aina; Mi., Working Class; Mn., Legal Marijuana Now; N.Y., Conservative; S.C., Alliance; Ut., United Utah; Vt., Progressive; Wa., Alliance.

The other(2) column: Ak., Veterans; Hi., American Shopping; Mi., Natural Law; Mn., Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis 4054 and Veterans 3,455; N.Y., SAM; S.C., Labor; Ut., Independent American.

`	Libert’n	Wrk Fam	Green	Constitn	Indpndc	Indp Pty	other(1)	other(2)	indp.
Alaska	999	0	0	0	0	0	6,404	0	18,793
Arizona	1,373	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Arkansas	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Calif.	53,256	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Colorado	34,156	0	0	0	0	0	7,482	0	0
Conn.	0	25,260	953	0	0	36,876	0	0	2,864
Del.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Florida	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	125,497
Georgia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hawaii	6,172	0	0	0	0	0	5,718	0	0
Idaho	4,916	0	0	1,526	0	0	0	0	16,531
Illinois	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Indiana	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Iowa	5,097	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kansas	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kentucky	20,927	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8,423
Maine	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3,479
Mass.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	23,469
Minn.	0	0	0	0	5,654	0	29,846	17,291	0
Missouri	24,717	0	15,383	0	0	0	0	0	0
Montana	3,722	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Nevada	2,007	0	0	14,387	0	0	0	0	0
N. Hamp.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
N. Mex.	3,921	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
N. York	20,588	307,974	3,108	0	107,987	0	331,177	4,920	7,435
No. Car.	37,919	0	0	32,295	0	0	0	0	0
No. Dak.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ohio	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Okla.	7,819	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Oregon	6,694	0	3,107	0	0	0	0	0	0
Penn.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
R.I.	0	0	781	0	0	0	0	0	10,085
S.Car.	1,909	0	0	0	0	0	7,928	0	0
S.Dak.	13,938	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9,045
Tenn.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	52,928
Texas	57,427	0	50,004	0	0	0	0	0	0
Utah	0	0	0	0	0	0	6,824	4,441	0
Vermont	2,028	0	0	0	0	0	54,422	0	42,806
Wash.	0	0	0	0	0	0	27,578	0	0
W.Va.	5,307	0	10,324	0	0	0	0	0	0
Wisc.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Wyoming	1,762	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TOTAL	316,654	333,234	83,660	48,208	113,641	113,641	477,379	26,652	321,355

2018 totals for State Senate were: Libertarian 273,630; Working Families 165,174; Green 67,724; Independence Parties 156,527; Constitution 31,181; Independent Parties 26,513; other parties 361,216; independent candidates 437,480.

Parties in the oth(1) column above are: Ak., Alaskan Independence; Co., Unity; Hi., Aloha Aina; Mn., Legal Marijuana Now; N.Y., Conservative; S.C., Alliance; Utah, United Utah; Vt., Progressive; Wa., Progressive.

Parties inn the oth(2) column: Mn., Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis; N.Y., SAM; Ut., Independent American.

At the November 3, 2020 election, the New York Conservative Party won a state legislative election. In Assembly District 48, in Brooklyn, there was only one candidate on the ballot, Simcha Eichenstein. He was the nominee of the Democratic Party and the Conservative Party. He received more votes on the Conservative line than on the Democratic line, so in fairness, it seems that history should record this election as one in which the Conservative Party won. The vote was: 13,411 Conservative; 12,570 Democratic.

This is only the second time the Conservative Party has placed first in any New York election for federal or state office. The other one was in 1970, when James Buckley, the Conservative U.S. Senate nominee, was elected, defeating his major party opponents.

The November 3, 2020 vote for president in Guam was: Biden 14,610; Trump 11,058; Hawkins (Green) 185; Jorgensen (Libertarian) 169; Hunter (Progressive) 140; Carroll (American Solidarity) 138; Collins (Prohibition) 83. Guam has no electoral votes, so this election is only an expression of public opinion in Guam.

The Independent Party believes it is now ballot-qualified, because its write-in gubernatorial candidate, S. Marshall Wilson, received more than 1% of the vote in November 2020. West Virginia defines a qualified party as one that got that share of the vote for Governor. Wilson, who was a state legislator at the time of the election, was a write-in candidate. The Secretary of State has not yet said whether he accepts the party or not. Wilson was a registered member of the party at the time of the election, and will sue of the state doesn’t recognize his party. The party has planned a state convention for April 2021, and it will sue if necessary.

Former Republican Congressman David Jolly of Florida has joined the SAM Party, and is its new Executive Chairman. The SAM Party is a centrist party that was formed in 2018. It did not have a presidential nominee in 2020. "SAM means "Serve America Movement."

Louisiana will fill two vacancies in its U.S. House delegation on March 20. Candidates get on the ballot by paying a filing fee, and there are no party nominees. The Second District has 15 candidates: eight Democrats, four Republicans, one Libertarian, one member of the Independent Party, and one independent. The Fifth District has 13 candidates: nine Republicans, two Democrats, one member of the Independent Party, and one independent.

On January 11, the national Green Party decertified the Alaska Green Party, because the Alaska Green Party in 2020 used its ballot position to place Jesse Ventura on the ballot for president, instead of placing Howie Hawkins on the ballot. The Alaska Green Party is not now ballot-qualified.

On January 11, the Nebraska Secretary of State rejected the petition for party status for the Legal Mariunana Now Party. The Secretary of State said the petition lacked 28 signatures from having enough valid signatures. The petition is not due until August 1, 2022, but the Secretary of State will not let the party supplement its petition. The party will probably sue.