Seven Iowa Presidential Candidates Qualify by Petition

Posted on by August 18, 2020
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In Iowa, only the Republican and Democratic Parties are qualified parties, so all other parties must place their presidential nominee on the ballot by petition. Seven such petitions succeeded. They required 1,500 signatures.

The seven are: Don Blankenship, Rocky De La Fuente, Howie Hawkins, Jo Jorgensen, Ricki Sue King, Brock Pierce, and Kanye West. Ricki Sue King lives in Windsor Heights, Iowa, and her ballot label is “Genealogy Know Your Family History.”

Here is a link to the Iowa Secretary of State’s web page, listing the candidates for all federal and state office.

Yahoo News! Presidential Poll

Posted on by August 17, 2020
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On August 17, a Yahoo! News poll for the presidential race was released. It shows: Joe Biden 49%; Donald Trump 38%; other 3%; undecided 8%; will not vote 2%. The poll provides age categories. The “other” vote is much higher for young voters than older voters. The “other” is 7% for persons age 18-29; 5% for persons 30-44; 1% for persons 45-64; and 0% for persons age 65 and over. See here; scroll down to question nine. Thanks to Politial Wire for the link.

New Mexico Libertarian Nominee for Statewide Partisan Race Placed on November Ballot

Posted on by August 17, 2020
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On August 17, a Libertarian Party ballot access case in New Mexico was settled. A final order from a U.S. District Court documents that the New Mexico Secretary of State now agrees that Stephen Curtis received enough write-in votes in the June Libertarian primary to qualify for a spot on the general election ballot. As a write-in candidate in a primary, the law required not only that he receive more votes than any other candidate for the nomination, but that he receive at least 230 write-ins.

The four-page order also says “The Secretary of State will in the future ensure that all county clerks properly account for all write-in votes on the proper tally sheet in subsequent elections.” Here is the order in Curtis v Toulouse Oliver, 1:20cv-748.

The Libertarian Party’s chances of polling at least 5% of the total vote cast in November 2020 for one of its nominees is now enhanced. It isn’t likely that the party will poll 5% for president or U.S. Senate, but it has a good chance of polling 5% for State Court of Appeals. Minor party nominees receive higher percentages of the vote when they are running for an office in which the typical voter doesn’t care too much about who wins. In 2018 the New Mexico Libertarian Party received 5.77% for Land Commissioner.

Florida Ballot Access Case Will Proceed in 2021

Posted on by August 17, 2020
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The Florida ballot access case filed by the Independent Party and the Party for Socialism and Liberation will proceed next year, toward a determination as to whether the law is constitutional or not. The law says that a ballot-qualified party cannot place a presidential nominee on the ballot unless it is either is recognized by the Federal Election Commission or unless it submits a petition of 132,781 signatures, due July 15.

The U.S. District Court and the Eleventh Circuit denied injunctive relief earlier this year, but that does not necessarily mean the lawsuit can’t win declaratory relief. The plaintiffs decided not to expedite the case, so it will proceed in 2021.