Three Arizona Lawsuits Over Arizona Independent Party are Consolidated Into One Case

Posted on by January 16, 2026
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The three pending lawsuits over the existence of the Arizona Independent Party have been consolidated. The case number for all three cases is cv2025-064149. The reason there were originally three lawsuits is that three entities had sued the Secretary of State for letting No Labels Party change its name to Arizona Independent Party. The three were the Clean Elections Commission, the Arizona Democratic Party, and the national and Arizona Republican Parties.

It is very unusual for a lawsuit involving a minor party to have the Secretary of State on the side of the minor party, with the other side consisting of both major parties. This appears to be a unique event in U.S. history.

SFGate Story on California Gubernatorial Race

Posted on by January 16, 2026
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SFGate, an on-line news source centered in San Francisco, has this story about the California gubernatorial race. The story singles out ten gubernatorial candidates and implies they are the only candidates worth mentioning. The list includes eight Democrats and two Republicans.

The story does not mention Green Party member Butch Ware, the only minor party candidate who has been actively campaigning and who has ever been included in any polls and participated in any debates. Nor does the story discuss the concept that the two Republicans might end up placing first and second in the June primary, which would create a November ballot with no Democrats and no write-in space.

California Republicans Ask U.S. Supreme Court to Reverse U.S. House District Boundaries Decision

Posted on by January 16, 2026
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On January 15, California Republicans filed notice of appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in Tangipa v Newsom, c.d., 2:25cv-10616. They also asked the 3-judge U.S. District Court to put its recent ruling (upholding the new U.S. House districts) on hold, pending the appeal. Here is the brief asking for a suspension of the ruling.

January 2026 Ballot Access News Print Edition

Posted on by January 16, 2026
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WASHINGTON, D.C. WILL USE RANKED CHOICE VOTING FOR PRIMARIES AND GENERAL ELECTIONS IN 2026
WILL EASE PATH FOR MINOR PARTIES TO GAIN QUALIFIED STATUS

On December 16, the D.C. City Council voted that the District will use Ranked Choice Voting starting this year for all partisan elections.  D.C. becomes the third jurisdiction to use RCV in federal elections, following Maine (in 2018) and Alaska (in 2022).

Results from Maine and Alaska show that RCV boosts the percentage of votes cast for minor parties.  In Maine in 2020, the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate polled the highest percentage for any third party candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine history.  For President that year, the percentage for the Green Party in Maine was 1.00%.  That was the party’s best percentage in any state that year, and triple the national percentage in the states in which it was on the ballot.

In Alaska, the Alaskan Independence Party benefited from RCV in 2024, when it polled the third highest percentage for U.S. House in the party’s history, a history that goes back to 1974.  Only 2008 and 1992 were higher.

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