On May 14, the Maine Senate passed LD 816, the National Popular Vote Plan bill. It now goes to the State House. The vote was 19-16. All Democrats except two voted for the bill. All Republicans voted against it. Thanks to Alex Hammer for this news.
The Libertarian National Committee has been in federal court in the District of Columbia, contesting a Federal Election Commission ruling restricting gifts to the party from deceased individuals, for over eight years. The party is still waiting for a decision on the merits.
The party’s first lawsuit on this subject was filed on March 17, 2011. Raymond Burrington had left the party $217,734 in his will, but the FEC did not permit the party to receive the money in one lump sum. Instead, the FEC said the party could only receive $30,800 in any one calendar year. This was because the McCain-Feingold law, which sharply restricts donations to political parties, did not permit an individual to donate more than $30,800, whether the person is alive or dead. The party argued that the purpose of the limit, to prevent any wealthy individual from bribing politicians by making big donations to that politician’s party, has no rational purpose if the donation is from someone who has died. The party argued that in this instance, Burrington had not even told the party about his will before he died, so clearly in circumstances like that, there could be no fear about bribery.
The lawsuit over the Burrington bequest took so long, that by the time the case was ready for a decision, the party had received all the money in annual chunks. So no ruling on the merits was ever issued.
Then, the party received an even bigger bequest, from Joseph Shaber, another person who had not told the party he had left it a donation in his will. A new lawsuit was filed concerning the Shaber bequest on January 25, 2016. It is still pending. After years of litigation over whether this case should be sent to the entire en banc panel of judges on the D.C. Circuit, it was sent there. The entire panel of D.C. Appeals Judges then heard oral argument in the case on December 14, 2018. There is still no decision, five months later. The case is Libertarian National Committee v FEC, 18-5227.
Joshua Spivak has “Why Joe Biden Needs Libertarians” in the Houston Chronicle. The article sets forth the history of the third party and independent presidential candidates who polled significant shares of the vote. It says that both Republican and Democratic presidential campaigns in 2020 need to woo the type of voters who vote Libertarian.
The piece has some errors. It says that Eugene Debs got 6% of the vote for president as the Socialist Party nominee in 1920. Actually he got 6% in 1912. In 1920 he got slightly less than 3%.
It says the Libertarian Party has run a presidential candidate in every election starting in 1980. Actually the party has run in every presidential election starting in 1972. Thanks to Political Wire for the link.
Pennsylvania has closed primaries. Senate Bill 357 would let independent voters choose which primary to vote in. According to this newspaper story, the bill has substantial support. So far it has not moved, and is in the Senate State Government Committee.
The newspaper story says the bill would set up an “open primary”, but that is not correct. “Open primary” has been defined in political science textbooks for over a century, and in U.S. Supreme Court opinions since 1972, as a system in which all voters may choose any party’s primary. Most southern states are open primary states. Typically, open primary states have a voter registration application that does not ask the applicant to choose a party, because there is no need for that information in an open primary system.
Here is the text of SB 357.
The South Carolina legislature adjourned on May 9. Many election law bills failed to pass. They include bills to abolish fusion; a bill to require convention nominees to pay a filing fee; a bill to set a maximum of $2,500 for filing fees for presidential primaries; bills to close primaries; bills to have South Carolina join the National Popular Vote Compact; a bill to make Treasurer an appointive position; a bill to delete the straight-ticket device. and a bill to move the non-presidential primary from June to May.
Current law lets parties set any filing fee they wish for presidential primaries. The Republican Party charged $40,000 in 2016. The Democratic Party caps its presidential primary filing fees at $2,500.
