On August 21, the Federal Election Commission filed this brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in National Republican Senatorial Committee v FEC, 24-621. Both sides in the case agree that the federal McCain-Feingold law that prohibits unlimited political party spending in support of its own nominees violates the First Amendment.
LOUISIANA MAKES IT MORE DIFFICULT TO CREATE A BALLOT-QUALIFIED PARTY
On June 4, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed HB 420. It increases the requirement for a group to become a qualified party, for purposes of presidential, state and local elections. The old law required 1,000 registered members. The new law requires 5,000 registered members. The bill’s author, Representative Beth Billings, is a former state chair of the Republican Party.
Fortunately, the bill does not change the requirements for an already-qualified party to remain on the ballot. For purposes of presidential, state and local offices, the law continues to let them remain on the ballot if they run at least one candidate every four years.
There are no news stories mentioning the increase in the difficulty of qualifying a new party. There appears to be no election-administration reason for increasing the requirement. Currently, the only ballot-qualified parties in Louisiana are the Republican, Democratic, Libertarian, and Green Parties. The old law, requiring 1,000 members, was passed in 2004, and in the twenty years it existed, there have never been more than five qualified parties.
Kamala Harris’ new book, 107 Days, is being released on September 23, 2025. She will be on a book tour from September 24 through November 16. Tickets are required. She will be appearing in New York (Sep. 24), Philadelphia (Sep. 25), Los Angeles (Sep. 29), Houston (Oct. 4), San Francisco (Oct. 5), Atlanta (Oct. 8), Washington (Oct. 9), Chicago (Oct. 11), Durham (Oct. 15), Birmingham (Oct. 17), and Portland (Oregon, Nov. 5).
Participants in a normal book tour have a tiny window of time in which to interact with the author, perhaps 15 seconds. It is possible to deliver a courteous, respectful message to the book author, as the author is signing the individual’s book, in most book tours. Proponents of fair ballot access might attempt to show up at the book signing and urge Harris to support ballot access for minor party and independent candidates.
The venues in each city are: New York The Town Hall; Philadelphia The Met Philadelphia; Los Angeles The Wiltern; Houston The Hobby Center; San Francisco The Masonic; Atlanta Tabernacle; Washington Warner Theater; Chicago Auditorium Theatre; Durham Performing Arts Center; Birmingham Alabama Theater; Portland (Oregon) Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.
On August 20, U.S. District Court Judge John F. Kness, a Trump appointee, said in an order that he wants oral argument in Team Kennedy v Illinois State Board of Elections, n.d., 1:24cv-7027. This is the ballot access case filed last year by the Robert F. Kennedy Jr independent campaign, the independent campaign of U.S. House candidate Angel Oakley, and the Illinois Libertarian Party. The date of the oral argument hasn’t been set yet.
This article points out that candidates for New York City office who withdraw must repay part of their public funding. Therefore, that provides a strong incentive for candidates not to withdraw.
