Deval Patrick Michigan Democratic Presidential Primary Petition Ruled Invalid

Posted on by December 27, 2019
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On December 23, the Michigan Secretary of State determined that the petition to get Deval Patrick on the Democratic presidential primary lacks enough valid signatures. The requirement is 11,345. Patrick submitted 13,777, but not enough were valid. See the Secretary of State’s letter here.

Patrick needed a petition because he didn’t declare for the presidential nomination until November 14, 2019. The deadline for the Secretary of State to decide which candidates are mentioned in the media was November 12. That deadline seems unnecessarily early. The only super-Tuesday states with an earlier deadline are Alabama and Arkansas. Thanks to several people for this news.

San Diego Union-Tribune Story on Rocky De La Fuente

Posted on by December 26, 2019
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The San Diego Union-Tribune has this lengthy and interesting story about Rocky De La Fuente and his campaigns for political office.

There is one factual error in the story. It says the Mark Seidenberg, vice-chair of the American Independent Party lives in Vacaville, Solano County. Actually it is the state chair of the AIP, Markham Robinson, who lives in Vacaville. Mark Seidenberg lives in Orange County, in southern California.

Unresolved Issue of Florida Ex-Felon Voting Rights is Being Handled Differently in Different Counties

Posted on by December 26, 2019
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Florida rules for the ability of ex-felons to register to vote are mired down in unresolved issues. The legislature in 2019 passed a bill saying they can’t register if they owe any unpaid restitution, fines, or court costs. Then a U.S. District Court ruled that if ex-felons can’t afford to pay, they must be allowed to register. The state has appealed that decision to the Eleventh Circuit.

In the meantime, county election officials are stepping in, at least is Hillsborough County. See this story, which explains how the county government is helping ex-felons to handle the ambiguity, and also how private organizations are helping pay unpaid obligations. Of course, this creates a situation in which voting rights depends on which county an individual inhabits, which is something that the U.S. Supreme Court condemned in 2000 in Bush v Gore.

Georgia Libertarian Party Files Reply Brief in Eleventh Circuit in Ballot Access Case

Posted on by December 26, 2019
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On December 26, the Georgia Libertarian Party filed this reply brief in its ballot access case, Cowen v Raffensperger, 19-14065. All the briefs are now in. The issue is the law on how minor party and independent candidates get on the ballot for U.S. House. The law is so difficult, no third party has ever complied with the law in the 76 years it has existed, and no independent has done it since 1964. Back in 1964 the deadline was in October, the signatures weren’t checked, and no U.S. House boundaries crossed county boundaries, so petitioning was far easier.

Kamala Harris Withdraws Name from All Democratic Presidential Primaries

Posted on by December 26, 2019
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U.S. Senator Kamala Harris has withdrawn her name from all Democratic presidential primary ballots, except for two states where the ballot was finalized before she withdrew from the race. Sometimes candidates in presidential primaries withdraw publicly, but don’t bother to do the paperwork to remove their names from ballots. But Harris did do the necessary paperwork.

By contrast, Mark Sanford withdrew publicly from the Republican race, but he didn’t bother to withdraw his name from the Michigan Republican primary ballot, even though Michigan has procedures for withdrawal.