Politicon will host a Republican presidential debate in Nashville on Saturday, October 26. Former Governor Bill Weld, former Governor Mark Sanford, and former Congressman Joe Walsh, will participate. See this story.
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Ohio law provides for a seven-member Elections Commission that always has three Democrats, three Republicans, and one independent. On October 22, U.S. District Court Judge Algenon Marbley issued an opinion in Libertarian Party of Ohio v Wilhem, s.d., 2:19cv-2501.
The opinion says that the composition of the Ohio Election Commission, which always excludes minor party members, cannot stand unless the state can show it is needed for a compelling reason. The order says, “The Commission is authorized to find violations of Ohio’s campaign finance laws, assess fines, and refer violations to the local prosecutor. These decisions, in theory, should not bear on political affiliation; rather, they should be objective determinations based on the law. It is difficult to ascertain why an individual who is affiliated with a minor political party cannot effectively perform this function, or even be considered for a position on the Commission.”
On October 16, the North Dakota Libertarian Party submitted its petition to regain qualified party status. This is only the second Libertarian Party petition drive that has been completed this year; the first one was the Arkansas party petition.
The Green Party won three seats in today’s Canadian Parliamentary election. At the previous election, in 2015, they had only won one seat. It is not easy for a smaller party to win any seats, because Canada does not have proportional representation.
The Green Party won a seat in New Brunswick in today’s election, their first federal parliamentary victory outside of British Columbia. Their other two wins were in British Columbia.
On October 9, U.S. District Court Judge Emily C. Marks issued a four-page order in Libertarian Party of Alabama v Merrill, strongly urging both sides to talk to each other in hopes that the case can be mediated without the need for a judicial opinion. This is the case in which the Libertarian Party challenges the policy of the state that the qualified parties receive a free list of the registered voters, but unqualified parties must pay approximately $35,000 for the list.
The precedents are entirely on the side of the Libertarian Party, and in 1970 the U.S. Supreme Court summarily affirmed the decision of a 3-judge U.S. District Court in New York, that if a state gives a free list to the qualified parties, it must also give it free to unqualified parties that are trying to petition to get on the ballot. That case was Socialist Workers Party v Rockefeller.