U.S. DISTRICT COURT MOSTLY UPHOLDS CALIFORNIA TOP-TWO, BUT KEEPS CASE ALIVE ON TWO POINTS
On April 13, U.S. District Court Judge Maxine Chesney mostly upheld California’s top-two system as it affects minor parties. But, she wrote that two aspects of the law are perhaps unconstitutional, and she is permitting further activity in the case for those two points. Those two issues are: (1) members of unqualified parties can’t have their party labels on the primary ballot, whereas members of qualified parties may have their party label; and (2) the top-two system in presidential years requires all candidates to file in December of the year before the election, thus freezing the status quo during the election year itself.
The California top-two system operates differently in presidential years than it does in midterm years. In presidential years, the congressional and state office primary is in the first week in March; in midterm years it is in June. So, the filing deadlines are far more onerous in presidential years.
The case is Peace and Freedom Party v Weber, n.d., 3:24cv-8308. The plaintiff political parties are the American Solidarity, Green, Libertarian, and Peace & Freedom Parties.
Judge Chesney said that the latter three parties already lost in the State Court of Appeals in Rubin v Padilla in 2015, and therefore they can’t relitigate the basic point about top-two. But the American Solidarity Party had not been in the earlier case, so Judge Chesney had to make a decision about the merits.
Disappointingly, all she said to uphold top-two is that the U.S. Supreme Court had already upheld it, inside the last few pages of its 2000 decision California Democratic Party v Jones.
In that decision, Justice Antonin Scalia, who wrote the decision, struck down the old California blanket primary that was in effect in 1998 and 2000 on freedom of association grounds. Then he grattuitously wrote that if California had a theoretical “nonpartisan blanket primary”, that would be constitutional.
Scalia’s hypothetical clearly referred to a system in which there are no party labels on the ballot. We know this is true because he dissented in 2008 in Washington State Grange v Washington Republican Party. Scalia wrote in 2008 that it violates freedom of association for a state to print party labels on the ballot when there is no mechanism for a party to nominate candidates. It is obvious that the hypothetical idea he mentioned in 2000 does not refer to a top-two system with party labels.
And even if it weren’t obvious that Scalia didn’t uphold top-two systems with party labels, what he wrote in his hypothetical is “dicta”, a legal term that says what he wrote is not part of the actual holding. It is a dereliction of judicial duty for Judge Chesney to base the main holding of her opinion on dicta from the 2000 decision.
She was handicapped because she never held any oral argument in this case, not even a status conference. She had scheduled several status conferences, but she always cancelled them. The case had been filed in December 2024.
The opinion does not acknowledge that the U.S. Supreme Court said in 1974, and again in 1977, that if a ballot access law is so severe that it is almost never used, then it is probably unconstitutional. Those decisions were Storer v Brown and Mandel v Bradley.
Nor does the opinion discuss the U.S. Supreme Court decision Williams v Rhodes (1968), which said that it is unconstitutional for states to keep all minor parties off the ballot, and that running in a primary is no substitute for running in the general election. Williams v Rhodes was filed by George Wallace in 1968, a year in which he was running for president outside the two major parties. He had run in Democratic presidential primaries in 1964, but, in his 1968 lawsuit. he asserted a right to be on the general election ballot, and he won the case. States must allow access to the general election, independently of whether anyone can run in a primary.
What Happens Next?
The plaintiffs must file paperwork by May 8 on the two issues that are still alive.
The reason the plaintiffs can still litigate the top-two system as it works in presidential years is that, when Rubin was decided, all California primaries were in June. California didn’t switch to March primaries in presidential years until 2017.
ALABAMA LOWERS COST OF VOTER LIST
On April 9, the Alabama legislature passed HB 67. On April 17, Governor Kay Ivey signed it. It lowers the cost of the registered voters list from approximately $37,000 to exactly $1,000. This is good news for groups that circulate petitions in Alabama. The petition requirements for minor parties and independent candidates are very severe, but at least these groups can now more easily buy the list of voters and check their petitions before submitting them.
ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO WINS
The fifty states vary widely on whether “substantial compliance” governs ballot access. Every election year, numerous candidates make a technical mistake when they file to get on the ballot. In some states, the tiniest violation of the rules means that the candidate is barred from the ballot. In others, courts apply “substantial compliance” and put the candidate on the ballot if the error seems immaterial. The contrast in different states was especially clear in March and April 2026. State courts in Arizona and New Mexico ruled in favor of substantial compliance, whereas state courts in California and Pennsylvania went the other way.
Arizona: on April 14, Maricopa Superior Court Judge Michael Mandell put Hugh Lytle on the Arizona Independent Party primary ballot as a candidate for Governor. Houihan v Lytle, cv2026-014149. Lytle had been kept off the ballot because his petitions listed his business address instead of his home address.
The decision says, “Strict compliance is not the operative test. Under controlling Arizona authority, the Court must determine whether the nomination paper substantially complied with the statute before denying ballot access…the Court finds that the address used in the nomination papers would not confuse, nor mislead electors concerning Mr. Lytle’s eligibility to run for Governor.”
New Mexico: on April 21, the State Supreme Court put Rebecca Dow on the Republican primary ballot as a candidate for State Representative. Jaramillo v Whitehead, S-1-SC-41374. She had been kept off because she filed screenshots of her petition pages instead of the actual sheets. The Court has not yet issued a written opinion, but ruled orally at the end of the oral argument. No justice dissented.
CALIFORNIA AND PENNSYLVANIA LOSSES
In contrast to the Arizona and New Mexico courts, California and Pennsylvania courts recently ruled against substantial compliance, and kept candidates off the ballot for minor errors.
California: on March 26, a Sacramento trial court refused to put Democrat Kelly Honig on the June primary ballot as a candidate for Assembly, 42nd district. She had enough valid signatures (she needed 40 signatures). But because she had picked up her petition blanks in Ventura County, instead of her county of residence, Los Angeles County, she was kept off the ballot. The 42nd district includes parts of both Ventura and Los Angeles Counties. Honig v Weber, 26WM000078. Honig is Mayor of Westlake Village and was someone who could have won if she had been able to get on the ballot.
California(2): on March 25, a Sacramento trial court refused to put Democrat Ernest Calhoon on the ballot as a candidate for Assembly because, on his petitions, a few signers didn’t fill out the address in their own handwriting, but let the circulator write it. Calhoon v Weber, 26WM000063.
California applies strict scrutiny for candidate ballot access, but substantial compliance for initiative petitions.
Pennsylvania: on April 1, Taiba Sultana, a Democratic candidate for State Senate in the 18th district, was removed from the May 19th primary ballot by the Commonwealth Court. Both the petition and the Statement of Economic Interests ask candidates for their occupation. She has three separate small businesses, so she put “self-employed”, but that was deemed by the court not to be a proper response. In re Nomination Petition if Sultana, 138 MD 2026. She appealed to the State Supreme Court, but on April 7 it refused any relief. Case 27 MAP 2026.
BALLOT ACCESS BILLS
Hawaii: the bill to ease the definition of a political party, HB 1716, has passed both houses of the legislature, but the versions of the bill differ in each house. The House version says a party is on forever once it has been on for eight years, assuming it continues to run candidates. The Senate version says once a party has been on for four years, it continues to be qualified for the next ten years. The bill will go to a conference committee. The legislature adjourns May 8.
Wisconsin: on March 27, Governor Tony Evers signed HB 223. It outlaws out-of-state circulators, except for petitions for presidential candidates. The bill appears to be unconstitutional, because Wisconsin is in the Seventh Circuit, and that circuit struck down the Illinois ban on out-of-state circulators in Krislov v Rednour in 2000.
VIRGINIA JOINS NATIONAL POPULAR VOTE PLAN
On April 13, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed SB 322, the National Popular Vote Plan bill. Virginia is the first state to join since 2023.
COLORADO REPUBLICAN PARTY WINS LAWSUIT
On April 1, U.S. District Court Judge Philip Brimmer issued an opinion in Colorado Republican Party v Griswold, 1:23cv-1948. It strikes down a law saying that if a party entitled to a primary doesn’t want to let independents vote in its primary, three-fourths of the party delegates must approve the idea.
Now the party is asking the judge to rule that for the 2026 primary, the party should be allowed to exclude independent voters, because the party would have taken that step if the ruling had come sooner. However, some incumbent Republican members of Congress are seeking to intervene to stop that idea. The primary is June 30.
BOOK REVIEW: RFK JR.
RFK Jr., The Fall and Rise, by Isabel Vincent, 2026, 278 pages.
This book is an unauthorized biography of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. It relies on Kennedy’s own autobiography, American Values, which was published in 2018. It also relies on Kennedy’s diaries for the years 1999, 2000, and 2001. The author was only able to gain access to his diaries because Kennedy’s second wife, Mary Richardson, had seized them in 2012 while she and Kennedy were in an acrimonious divorce. The author obtained the diaries in 2013.
The author is not a Kennedy supporter. She writes in her Preface, “Kennedy is dangerous” for his opposition to vaccines. But, the book is evenhanded and well written. Kennedy had an eventful life. He spent a month in federal prison in Puerto Rico in 2001 for having participated in illegal demonstrations against the U.S. Navy’s occupation of parts of Vieques Island (the Navy was using it for bombing practice). He explored a little charted river in the Peruvian Amazon. In his youth, he became an expert on falconry. As an attorney, he was a leader in the long fight for an environmentally healthy Hudson River. And because he was the nephew of President John F. Kennedy and the second son of Robert F. Kennedy, he was in constant contact with the elite of the U.S. political and cultural world.
When I first learned about this book, I was hopeful that it would tell the story of Kennedy’s independent run for the presidency in 2024. But, the book only devotes eight pages to that subject (226-233), and it fails to explain the significance of his campaign. Kennedy’s effort to get on ballots was strenuously fought by the Democratic Party. His ballot status was challenged by Democrats in Arizona, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Texas.
Democrats also challenged the legality of an independent PAC’s efforts to fund his ballot access petitioning. Democrats influenced the rules for entry into the June 27 debate to make it impossible for him to qualify. Finally, the Biden administration denied him Secret Service protection, although that decision was reversed after the attempt on Donald Trump’s life.
All of the Democratic Party’s hostility to Kennedy’s independent campaign caused him to withdraw from the race on August 23, and to endorse Republican nominee Donald Trump. This decision was probably the most consequential act that Kennedy had ever taken in his entire life. It altered the outcome of the presidential election. Kamala Harris had led in 29 of the 37 polls released in August 2024 (see the Wikipedia page “Opinion polling for the 2024 United States presidential election”). She lost her polling lead after Kennedy’s decision. He was still at 8% when he withdrew. Harris only lost the popular vote by 1.6%. Yet the book does not mention any of this. It does describe the Democratic challenge to his New York ballot position, but it doesn’t mention any of the others.
The book says he was on the ballot in 20 states. Actually, he qualified for the ballot in every state but New York. In September he withdrew from the ballot of nineteen states, but he was still on the ballot in thirty states, the District of Columbia, and Guam (Guam has no electoral votes but it still holds a presidential election). Even in the face of his appeal to voters not to vote for him and instead to vote for Trump, he still polled .98% of the vote in the jurisdictions in which he was on the ballot.
Kennedy won constitutional ballot access lawsuits in Utah against the early petition deadline, and in Idaho against the law that an independent presidential petition must carry the name of the vice-presidential nominee. He may yet win his Illinois lawsuit, which is still pending in U.S. District Court.
“BALLOTS WITHOUT BARRIERS” FORMED TO WORK FOR REFORM
Lars Mapstead, a California Libertarian activist, has formed “Ballots Without Barriers” to lobby for more lenient ballot access for candidates of all types. The group is non-partisan. Below is a statement from the group:
Ballot access has long been a niche issue among third parties and a handful of enthusiasts. Ballots Without Barriers aims to change that.
Most of the country wants better politicians. Most of the country has no idea that ballot access is the way to get it.”, Lars Mapstead, the org’s founder, says.
Lars Mapstead is not your typical movement founder. He’s a tech tycoon, who grew up just outside Silicon Valley. He also happened to run for the Libertarian nomination for President in 2024. While he didn’t clinch the nomination, he told me that it proved something.
I had no idea it took this much work just to be another option,” he told me. “It’s hundreds of thousands of dollars just to get on the ballot, much less run for office.”
Lars is a serial entrepreneur, and in this moment, he saw a movement that needed to be created. He created a charitable research arm, the Voting Rights Foundation, to explore what could be done.
They started small. Threw a few thousand at ads and messages to see what worked. They were surprised what they found. Upon hearing the stories of good candidates, U.S. Marines, Fathers, and Small business owners, who couldn’t make it on the ballot, hundreds of voters signed petitions. Thousands raised their hand to help.
“It was then that we knew this had some legs. Maybe other people saw that the system was rigged,” said Lars.
They started to put together a small team. Their first big addition was Harrison Kemp, known for his work cutting Maine’s registration requirement in half from 10,000 to 5,000 signatures.
Then brought on Sarah Brady, who played a pivotal role reducing NC’s automatic ballot access requirement to 0.25% of the last gubernatorial vote. Dan Johnson, who successfully pushed state and local-level nullification of federal laws, and Kelsey Lyon, a veteran of multiple Libertarian presidential campaigns.
Their strategy is simple. Deceptively so. First, till the ground. Put out wide ballot access messaging to the masses and see who responds. ‘The majority of people want to throw the bums out. They don’t realize ballot access is getting in their way. When you connect those dots, the movement explodes”, Lars told me.
Second, develop issue coalitions to drive ballot access in any state that will listen. Since most states have ballot access issues, having on the ground organizers is key. They intend to pull from third parties, civic groups like League of Women Voters, and issue groups ticked at traditional parties for ignoring them.
Third, target 10-15 states with concentrated campaigns. Their approach is a mix of states that have high administrative costs to the Secretary of State. “Believe it or not, but the Secretary of State is often our biggest backer”, said Harrison Kemp, the group’s national organizer, “and states that are the worst on ballot access, and easiest to win small concessions on.”
Each of these campaigns will consist of an on the ground state team, social media ads (the group spends thousands per month on ads), and pressure campaigns to move key legislators, in the form of phone calls, emails, and online comments.
We are even developing a first-of-its kind tool to turn an online form into a custom postcard to land in your legislator’s mailbox,” said Lars.
They believe that they have the right team, the right strategy, and the right time to move the needle. “People have never been more frustrated with the Republicans and Democrats. We’ve already shown the average voter “gets it” when they see a candidate they like thrown off the ballot. Now it’s just mobilizing that energy at the state level.” said Harrison.
www.ballotswithoutbarriers.com
RANKED CHOICE VOTING NEWS
Maine: on April 6, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled unanimously that the State Constitution does not permit Ranked Choice Voting to be used in general elections for state offices. Opinion of the Justices, 2026 ME 32. Thus, the state will continue using a hybrid system, in which Ranked Choice Voting is used for primaries for federal and state offices, and general elections for federal offices.
Virginia: on April 22, Governor Abigail Spanberger signed HB 630 and SB 176, identical bills that expand Ranked Choice Voting for local offices. Current law lets cities and counties use RCV for certain offices, but the new law expands that to all local offices, and removes the sunset provision from the old law. A “sunset provision” is a law that says an existing law is automatically repealed at some point in the future. The new law also authorizes more studies of RCV, with a view to how it would work if applied to higher office. This is the first bill passed in any state this year to expand RCV.
Indiana and Ohio legislatures passed bills earlier this year to ban RCV, although no jurisdiction in either state uses it. Indiana SB 12 was signed February 24, and SB 63 in Ohio was signed on March 17.
PRIMARY VOTING SYSTEM NEWS
Alabama: on April 9, the legislature adjourned. HB 541, the bill to switch from open primaries to closed primaries, failed to pass. It had passed the House and the Senate State Government Affairs Committee, but it was never brought up on the Senate floor.
Massachusetts: an initiative is circulating to create a top-two system.
Tennessee: on April 20, the House Finance, Ways & Means Committee defeated HB886, the bill to convert primaries from open to closed.
ARKANSAS ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES
On March 31, the Eighth Circuit agreed with the U.S. District Court that Arkansas can’t stop recognizing electronic signatures on voter registration forms. Get Loud Arkansas v Jester, 13-2810. The basis is the 1964 Civil Rights Law, which said that voting and registration can’t be invalidated if the reason for the validation is not “material” to an accurate and fair voting system.
The vote was 2-1. The decision was written by Judge Steveen M. Colloton (a Bush Jr. appointee) and also signed by Judge Ralph Erickson (Trump appointee). Judge David Stras (Trump) dissented. The state has asked for an en banc rehearing.
BUTCH WARE FILES BALLOT ACCESS LAWSUIT
On April 27, Butch Ware, the California Green Party gubernatorial candidate, filed a federal lawsuit against the law that requires gubernatorial candidates to file copies of their tax returns. Ware v Weber, e.d., 2:26cv-1643. The case was assigned to Magistrate Sean Riordan. However, the Magistrate immediately declined to hear the case, and asked the chief judge to reassign the case to a judge.
2026 PETITIONING FOR STATEWIDE OFFICES
| State | Party sigs | Indp sigs | Libertar. | Green | Constitut. | Forward | Pty due | Indp due |
| Alabama | 42,459 | 42,459 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | May 19 | May 19 |
| Alaska | (reg) 5,000 | #Pay fee | already on | *1,455 | *749 | 0 | May 4 | June 1 |
| Arizona | 34,127 | #44,539 | already on | already on | *too late | *too late | *Nv 14, 25 | May 6 |
| Arkansas | 10,000 | 10,000 | *already on | 0 | 0 | 0 | April 28 | *May 1 |
| Calif. | (reg) *76,273 | 65 | already on | already on | *too late | *too late | Dec 31 25 | March 6 |
| Colorado | 10,000 | #8,000 | already on | already on | already on | *already on | Jan 9 | July 9 |
| Conn. | no procedure | #7,500 | *0 | *0 | *0 | *0 | – – | Aug 10 |
| Del. | (reg) 780 | 7,800 | already on | *773 | *226 | *2 | Aug 25 | July 15 |
| D.C. | no procedure | #3,000 | can’t start | already on | can’t start | can’t start | – – | Aug 5 |
| Florida | be organized | 0 | already on | already on | already on | already on | Apr 24 | Apr 24 |
| Georgia | 72,680 | #70,083 | 500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | July 14 | July 14 |
| Hawaii | 861 | 25 | already on | already on | too late | too late | Feb 20 | June 2 |
| Idaho | 18,349 | 1,000 | already on | 0 | already on | 0 | Aug 30 | March 21 |
| Illinois | no procedure | #25,000 | 0 | *15,000 | 0 | 0 | – – | May 25 |
| Indiana | no procedure | #36,944 | already on | 0 | 0 | 0 | – – | June 30 |
| Iowa | no procedure | #3,500 | *2,700 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – – | June 2 |
| Kansas | 20,180 | 5,000 | already on | 0 | 0 | 0 | June 1 | Aug 3 |
| Kentucky | no procedure | #5,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – – | Aug 11 |
| Louisiana | 1,000 + 5,000 | 5,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | *Feb 13 | *Feb 13 |
| Maine | (reg) 5,000 | #4,000 | already on | already on | 0 | 0 | Jan 2 | June 1 |
| Maryld. | 10,000 | 10,000 | *0 | already on | 0 | 0 | July 1 | Aug 3 |
| Mass. | (reg) 45, 500 | #10,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Feb. 1 | July 28 |
| Michigan | 44,618 | 12,000 | already on | already on | already on | 0 | July 16 | July 16 |
| Minn. | 163,621 | #2,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | May 2 | June 2 |
| Miss. | be organized | 1,000 | already on | already on | already on | 0 | *Feb 2 | Feb. 2 |
| Missouri | 10,000 | 10,000 | already on | 0 | 200 | 0 | Muly 27 | July 27 |
| Montana | 5,000 | #12,788 | already on | 0 | 0 | 0 | March 2 | May 26 |
| Nebraska | 6,726 | 4,000 | already on | 0 | 0 | 0 | Aug 3 | Sept 1 |
| Nevada | 14,271 | 250 | already on | 0 | already on | *30 | May 12 | May 12 |
| N.Hamp | 24,375 | #3,000 | 0 | 0 | *400 | 0 | Aug 4 | Aug 4 |
| N Jersey | no procedure | #2,000 | *250 | *500 | 0 | 0 | – – | June 2 |
| N Mex | 3,560 +14,246 | 14,246 | already on | already on | 0 | *already on | June 25 | June 25 |
| N York | no procedure | #45,000 | can’t start | can’t start | can’t start | can’t start | – – | May 26 |
| No Caro | *14,310 | 83,874 | already on | already on | *0 | *8,000 | May 17 | March 3 |
| No Dak | 7,000 | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | April 6 | Aug 31 |
| Ohio | 57,678 | 5,000 | already on | 0 | 0 | 3,000 | July 1 | May 4 |
| Okla | 34,599 | 0 | already on | 0 | 0 | 0 | March 2 | April 10 |
| Oregon | 29,294 | 22,445 | already on | already on | already on | 0 | Aug 11 | Aug 11 |
| Penn. | no procedure | #5,000 | *850 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – – | Aug 3 |
| R.I. | *25,670 | #1,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Aug 3 | July 10 |
| So.Car. | 10,000 | 10,000 | already on | already on | already on | already on | May 3 | July 15 |
| So.Dak. | 3,502 | 3,502 | already on | 0 | 0 | 0 | July 1 | April 28 |
| Tenn | 43,498 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Aug 5 | *March 10 |
| Texas | 81,030 | 81,030 | already on | already on | *0 | *0 | May 26 | *May 11 |
| Utah | 2,000 | #1,000 | already on | already on | already on | already on | Nv 30 ‘25 | June 15 |
| Vermont | be organized | #500 | already on | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dec 31 ‘25 | Aug 6 |
| Virginia | no procedure | #10,000 | *0 | *0 | *0 | *0 | — | June 16 |
| Wash. | no procedure | #0 | can’t start | can’t start | can’t start | can’t start | – – | May 8 |
| W.Va. | no procedure | #7,478 | already on | already on | already on | 0 | – – | Aug 3 |
| Wisc. | 10,000 | #2,000 | already on | already on | already on | *0 | April 1 | June 1 |
| Wyoming | 5,201 | 5,201 | already on | 0 | already on | 0 | June 1 | Aug 24 |
| #On | 31 | *18 | 12 | *5 |
* means change since April 1, 2026 B,A,N.
LIBERTARIAN PARTY LIKELY HAS WORST BALLOT APPEARANCE IN A MIDTERM YEAR SINCE 1990
The Libertarian Party probably won’t have candidates on the November ballot for statewide offices in nine states in which it did have statewide candidates in 2022: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, and Rhode Island. On the other hand, it will be on in Ohio and probably Minnesota, two states in which it was not on for statewide offices in 2022.
Ballot access laws have become more severe in the last six years. Sometimes a minor party is ballot-qualified and still can’t place nominees on the ballot, thanks to laws in some states that make it difficult for a candidate to get on his or her party’s primary ballot.
The party is petitioning in Maryland but has decided to use the signatures for 2028 party status instead of 2026.
LIBERTARIAN PARTY GAINS A PARTISAN OFFICEHOLDER IN OKLAHOMA
Late last year, Laura Culp was appointed Woodward County Assessor. She is a registered Libertarian. Filing for the office has closed, and she has no Republican opponent, although she does have a Democratic opponent. If she wins, she will be the first minor party nominee to win a partisan office in Oklahoma since 1914, when six Socialists were elected to the legislature.
AMERICAN INDEPENDENT PARTY ENDORSES REPUBLICAN CHAD BIANCO FOR CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR
In March, the American Independent Party endorsed Chad Bianco for California Governor. The AIP doesn’t have its own gubernatorial nominee. California election officials mail a Voters Guide to every registered voter, and the Guide shows all the endorsements for statewide offices made by any ballot-qualified party.
GEORGIA U.S. HOUSE ELECTION
On April 7, Georgia held a special congressional election in the 14th district. The results: Republican 55.9%; Democratic 44.1%. When this seat had last been up, in November 2024, the results had been: Republican 64.4%; Democratic 35.6%.
NEW PARTY IN ALASKA GETS OFF TO A SLOW START
In March, some former leaders of the Alaskan Independence Party (which dissolved itself that month) said they would try to qualify a new party, the Alaskan Party. But at the April 1 registration tally, it only had fourteen registrants. It needs 5,000 to qualify.
ONLY ONE VOTE CAST IN CONSTITUTION PARTY PRIMARY
The Constitution Party is ballot-qualified in Massac County, Illinois, and has its own primary. At the March 17, 2026 primary, only one voter chose the Constitution Party primary ballot. But the only candidate on that ballot did receive one vote, so he will be on the November ballot as the party’s nominee for a county office.
A PERSONAL NOTE FROM RICHARD WINGER
I wish to thank Brian Hauptli. He and I were married on November 10, 2025. Since then, he has proved a huge help to my ability to continue my work publishing this newsletter. I am 82 and advanced age does slow one up. But he maintains the house, does the cooking and shopping and gardening and adds to our joint social life. Also he keeps me centered when things are hectic.
I also wish to thank Kevin Hayes, my webmaster; Eric Garris, who puts up the printed newsletter on the BAN website every month; and Chet Chin, who along with Brian helps me fold and stuff the newsletter every month. And, of course, I thank my co-editor Bill Redpath.
https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/trump-officials-tried-ban-half-us-voting-machines-citing-conspiracy-theories-2026-05-22/
May 22, 2026 10:03 AM UTC
Exclusive: Trump officials tried to ban half of U.S. voting machines, citing conspiracy theories
By Jonathan Landay, Erin Banco, Alexandra Alper
“Summary
Effort to exclude Dominion voting machines collapsed after Trump aide failed to deliver proof of vote-rigging
Trump officials have sought federal control over elections and a shift to paper ballots
Most U.S. jurisdictions already use machines with auditable paper trails
Trump continues to repeat debunked claims about Dominion voting machines despite lack of evidence”
This guy definitely sounds like a likely future third party POTUS candidate…
https://notthebee.com/article/british-authorities-prevent-asylum-seeker-from-self-deporting
Reuters is debunked fake news.
Those vote cheating machines need to be banned, much like the AZ-666 SPAMBOT.
When the crAZy nAZi-666 spambot posts a link you already know it has to be fake news, and when it posts anything else you already know it’s a really bad idea.
“Finally, the Biden administration denied him Secret Service protection, although that decision was reversed after the attempt on Donald Trump’s life.”
You make it sound like there was only one such attempt. There have been multiple, and were already multiple in 2024: Butler, PA; near Mar A Lago; and a little publicized but mentioned in multiple news reports Iranian conspiracy. Since then there have been at least two separate such attempts that I can think of.
“…altered the outcome of the presidential election. Kamala Harris had led in 29 of the 37 polls released in August 2024 (see the Wikipedia page “Opinion polling for the 2024 United States presidential election”). She lost her polling lead after Kennedy’s decision.”
Correlation =/= causation. She lost her lead, which was itself bad polling and fake news, as people got to know her and what she was all about better. Kennedy fell off as minor parties normally do, as people focused on the race and the fact that he can’t win.
He ended up about where you might expect given that it was an allegedly tightly contested top of the ticket race and he had received a lot of publicity and was still on the ballot in many states but not in many other’s.
Had he campaigned til the end, history shows his polls would have kept cratering and his actual performance would have been substantially lower than the final polls. It would likely have been lowest of all in the “swing” states – those where persistent demon rat vote and vote counting fraud was on the verge of success or failure – where voters would have faced the most pressure not to vote their conscience if it dictated voting for a guaranteed loser.
Understandably, that’s where demon rat efforts to sue him off the ballot were focused, and some would have succeeded even if his own legal team and the demon rat legal team hadn’t switched sides as to whether he should stay on the ballot.
Tl ; Dr you are giving him too much credit for Trump winning, and Trump and Harris not enough.
“Harris only lost the popular vote by 1.6%.”
That’s both after a whole lotta fraud in her direction and a meaningless statistical trivial point given that, thank G-D, we do not have a national popular vote scheme in place.
“A PERSONAL NOTE FROM RICHARD WINGER
I wish to thank Brian Hauptli. He and I were married on November 10, 2025. Since then, he has proved a huge help to my ability to continue my work publishing this newsletter. I am 82 and advanced age does slow one up. But he maintains the house, does the cooking and shopping and gardening and adds to our joint social life. Also he keeps me centered when things are hectic.”
A belated congratulations, as this is the first I’ve heard of this. Did Jerry (iirc) pass away, or did you part company after all those years? In any case, your level of activity at your age is enviable.
I’m a few years younger – less than a decade difference – but each passing year feels harder than the last. My wife and I have been married since her 18th birthday, when I was a couple of months older. We were boyfriend and girlfriend throughout our school years, and, although we no longer remember, family lore and photos indicate even earlier. Our first child was born when we were 18, our first grandchild when we were 36, and even some of our grandchildren now have grandkids of their own.
I honestly can’t imagine even looking for another wife if she dies before me. We’re still both in decent enough health that the only clue as to what might happen is in the actuarial tables and family history, which both indicate I’m more likely to die first. Having made it this far, they both indicate that most likely won’t be for a couple more decades, but only the Lord knows for sure.
I still help feed the pigs early every morning, and then see what other farm chores or other activities I feel up to after that. God is good and the South will rise again!
Thank you, Pig Farmer. Jerry Kunz died July 8, 2023, at the age of 90. He had a massive stroke 13 days earlier.
My sister was a pig farmer for many years, but now she raises goats and sheep.
You’re welcome, and even more belated condolences re: Jerry.
We actually raise a variety of animals and crops, including those, but porcine animals have always been our mainstay.
Daddy was a good friend, political ally, and occasional meat vendor to Lester Maddox at Lester’s Grill and the famous Pickrick. They remained friends and allies until they passed away in the 2000s decade.
https://www.reddit.com/r/VintageMenus/comments/akf1wx/pickrick_restaurant_atlanta_july_1964/
We would always visit the Maddoxes when we were up around Atlanta and they would visit us when they went to our area of Southwest Georgia right near the Florida and Alabama state lines.
Governor Maddox was my political mentor. I worked on all his campaigns for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and even President.
The first Presidential candidate I volunteered for was Barry Goldwater. The first one I travelled to Independently of my parents to several States was George Wallace in 1967-8. I couldn’t yet vote for him then, as you had to be 21, but did in the Democratic Primary in 1972, which was the first, last, and only time I voted Democrat in a Presidential election.
I supported Congressman Schmitz for President that year, and have always supported minor party and independent candidates for President in the general election each time except when Reagan and Trump ran and generally support conservative Republicans in presidential primaries.
Minor parties I’ve supported over the years included American, American Independent, Libertarian, Reform, Constitution, and Southern. Thank you for your work in helping facilitate their ballot access.
My family and I were also well acquainted with Jimmy Carter, whom we never trusted or supported. Many of our neighbors and friends supported him as late as 1976, but not a one by 1980.
Daddy was a nearly-founding member of the John Birch Society in the late 1950s, and I remain a member in good standing today.
We ate at the Pickrick many times on our trips north to Atlanta when I was a kid. Daddy was a regular there as a war veteran Georgia Tech student.
http://atlantatimemachine.com/misc/pickrick.htm
Tl;dr
My uncle wants to make sure everyone knows that he is older than dirt.
And that he’s become super progressive about gay stuff in his old age.