Alaska Representative Max Gruenberg has introduced HB 402, to change the definition of “political party”. The current definition is irrational. There is a 3% vote test, and an alternate 3% registration test. The alternate registration test is not based on the share of the number of registered voters, but instead on the last vote cast. Since the number of votes in a presidential election is typically 30% greater than in a gubernatorial election, that means the number of registered voters needed for a party to attain, or keep, ballot status, goes up and down wildly. For example, right now a party needs 7,124 registrants, but after the November 2008 election, it will probably need 10,500 or so.

UPDATE: it turns out the bill was drafted badly. Rep. Gruenberg had no intention of wiping out the voter registration test. The bill will be amended.

HB 402 says a “party” is a group that polled 5,000 votes in the last election for a particular office. If it is a gubernatorial election year, then the party needs to poll 5,000 votes for Governor. If it is a presidential election year, it needs to poll 5,000 for U.S. Senate. If U.S. Senate is not up, then it needs to poll 5,000 for U.S. House.

5,000 votes would be approximately 2% of the 2006 vote.