Florida Special U.S. House Election Likely to Have Four Candidates

Posted on by June 4, 2021
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Florida will hold a special election to fill the vacancy in the 20th congressional district on January 11, 2022. The seat is vacant because Congressman Alcee Hastings died on April 6, 2021. According to this story, one Libertarian and one independent have announced. The deadline for petitions in lieu of filing fee is August 3, and 1,168 signatures are needed. The filing fee for party members is $10,440. Presumably both the Libertarian and the independent will attempt to collect the signatures in lieu of filing fee.

Assuming a Libertarian does get on the ballot, that will be the first minor party U.S. House candidate on the Florida ballot since 2016, when there was a Libertarian in the Second District. Florida has very few minor party candidates for U.S. House because the filing fee is so high.

Meantime, a lawsuit is proceeding in U.S. District Court to force the state to hold the special election earlier. Dowling v DeSantis, s.d., 9:21cv-80796. On June 3, the state filed its brief, urging the court to dismiss the case.

California Bill that Slightly Improves Ballot Access Passes Assembly

Posted on by June 3, 2021
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On June 2, the California Assembly passed AB 446. The vote was 70-4. The four “no” votes were cast by Republicans Megan Dahle, Laurie Davies, Randy Voepel, and Marie Waldron. The bill slightly eases ballot access for new and previously unqualified parties. It lowers the petition for party status from 10% of the last gubernatorial vote to 3%. While this is a dramatic improvement, it won’t have much practical effect because almost all groups that desire to become qualified used the alternate registration test anyway. The alternate registration test requires the group to have membership of .33% of the number of registered voters.

The bill also frees up the ability of new parties to use a party name that had been previously used by a group wanting to get on the ballot. For example, a party called the Reform Party could in theory now qualify for the California ballot. Under previous rulings of the Secretary of State, a group could not use the name “Reform Party” unless the same person who had been chair of the last Reform Party was part of the new filing.

Mayor of Pontiac, Michigan, Runs for Re-Election as a Write-in Candidate

Posted on by June 3, 2021
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According to this story, the Mayor of Pontiac, Michigan, will run for re-election as a write-in candidate in the August 3, 2021 non-partisan primary. She was kept off the ballot by the City Clerk because she has some unpaid campaign finance fines. There are four candidates who will be listed on the ballot. The Mayor, Deirdre Waterman, needs to place first or second on August 3.

Illinois Bill for a Later Primary in 2022 Passes; Bill Extends Deadline for Independent and Minor Party Petitions

Posted on by June 2, 2021
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On May 31, the Illinois legislature passed SB 825, which moves the 2022 primary from March to June. The bill also shifts the petitioning period for independent candidates and the nominees of unqualified parties. It provides that the petitioning period for them will be April 13 to July 13. Thanks to Sam Cahnman for this news.