New Florida Registration Data

Posted on by August 6, 2021
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As of mid-July 2021, the number of active registered voters in Florida in each party is: Democratic 5,230,169; Republican 5,167,567; Independent Party 193,387; Libertarian 41,529; Green 7,722; Constitution 3,178; Reform 1,461; Socialism & Liberation 1,329; Ecology 1,071; Unity 11; independent and miscellaneous 3,835,214.

Percentages are: Democratic 36.11%; Republican 35.68%; Independent Party 1.34%; Libertarian .29%; Green .05%; Constitution .02%; Reform .01%; Socialism & Liberation .01%; Ecology .01%; independent and miscellaneous 26.48%.

Percentages in October 2020 were: Democratic 36.72%; Republican 35.79%; Independent Party 1.13%; Libertarian .27%; Green .05%; Constitution .02%; Reform .01%; Socialism & Liberation .01%; Ecology .01%; independent and miscellaneous 25.99%. The Unity Party was not ballot-qualified in October 2020.

Percentages for minor parties in Florida tend to be low, because the choices are not listed on the question that asks about the applicant’s choice of party. The choices must be written in.

Ohio Supreme Court Denies Relief to Local Initiative Proponents

Posted on by August 5, 2021
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On August 3, the Ohio Supreme Court issued an opinion in State ex rel Schmitt v Village of Bridgeport, 2021-Ohio-2664. The vote was 6-1. The majority held that a local initiative should not be on the November 2021 ballot, because the petition had been submitted to the wrong village official. The law says that a local initiative in a village should be submitted to the village clerk. The initiative proponents submitted the petition to an individual who said she was the clerk, but she wasn’t. The dissent, which is longer than the opinion, describes how the initiative proponents were tricked. See page eight of the opinion (which has the essence of the dissent).

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich Files Federal Lawsuit to Regain Right to Run for State or Local Office

Posted on by August 4, 2021
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On August 2, former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich filed a federal lawsuit to overturn the judgment of the Illinois Senate from 2009 that he be convicted, removed from office, and barred from ever running for state or local office. Blagojevich v State, n.d., 1:21cv-4103. Here is the Complaint. Thanks to ElectionLawBlog for this news. Blagojevich served time in prison, but former President Trump commuted his sentence so he is no longer in prison.

California Superior Court Tentative Opinion Says Governor Gavin Newsom’s Ballot Statement is Truthful

Posted on by August 4, 2021
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California Superior Court Judge Laurie Earl has issued a tentative opinion in Heatlie v Weber, 34-2021-80003690, which says that Governor Gavin Newsom’s ballot statement, which says the recall against him is led by Republicans, is truthful. See this story. UPDATE: here is the eleven-page tentative ruling.

In California, in civil trial courts, judges issue tentative opinions before hearing the case, indicating the thinking of the judge. It is always possible for a judge to alter the tentative opinion after the oral argument, but generally tentative opinions and final opinions are identical.

Virginia Will Use Same Abbreviation for Liberation Party and Libertarian Party Nominees

Posted on by August 4, 2021
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Virginia general election ballots spell out the full names of parties in the presidential part of the ballot, but for all other offices, the state only uses a single letter to identify the party name. This year, for the state offices up on November 2, 2021, the Liberation Party is on the ballot for Governor, and the Libertarian Party is on the ballot in some legislative races. The State Board has decided to identify both of the parties with just the letter “L”. See this story.

The Liberation Party had proposed its own two-letter ideas for itself, and had agreed that “L” should continue to be the Libertarian abbreviation. But the Board is sticking to a single letter, for both parties. Obviously it would be far better to use the full party name for everyone.

Hawaii also uses a single letter instead of the full party name, but at least when the Reform Party was on the ballot in Hawaii, the state used “Rf” for Reform nominees, preserving the “R” for Republicans. In Virginia in the 1990’s, the “Republican” and “Reform” problem did not arise, because before 2001, Virginia did not have any party labels or abbreviations on the ballot, except for president.