On October 19, Alaska Governor Bill Walker, an independent, dropped his bid for re-election and asked voters to vote for Mark Begich, the Democratic nominee. Walker is the nation’s only independent Governor. See this story. Thanks to Scott Kohlhaas for this news.
The Ninth Circuit has proposed hearing Libertarian Party of Arizona v Reagan, 17-16491, on February 8, 2019, if that date is acceptable to the attorneys. This is the case that challenges the 2017 law that makes it extremely difficult for members of small qualified parties to get on their own party’s primary ballot, if that party has been continuously ballot-qualified for more than just the last election or last two elections. The restrictive law does not apply to small qualified parties that have had to attain their qualified status in the last few years. That is why the new restriction doesn’t apply to the Green Party, and that is why the Green Party has nominees on the Arizona ballot this year, but the Libertarian Party doesn’t, even though the Libertarian Party has substantially more members in Arizona than the Green Party does.
New Mexico Secretary of State shows the following data for registration in each party as of September 28, but the Secretary’s web page only shows the three parties entitled to a primary.
Totals for the other parties, furnished by the Secretary of State’s office, are: Green 4,101; Independent American 3,982; Better for America 2,623; Constitution 389.
Percentages are: Democratic 45.84%; Republican 30.39%; Libertarian .73%; Green .33%; Independent American .32%; Better for America .21%; Constitution .03%; independent and miscellaneous, 22.15%.
Percentages in February 2018 were: Democratic 45.96; Republican 30.55%; Libertarian .64%; Green .33%; Independent American .38%; Better for America .14%; Constitution .03%; independent and miscellaneous 21.97%. The Better for America Party is the party that nominated Evan McMullin for president in 2016.
On August 19, the plaintiffs in the federal case involving glitches in Georgia voter registration records asked a U.S. District Court to expedite their lawsuit. They also asked the court to issue an order that enables voters who have trouble with the voter registration records to be allowed to vote at the polls, if they produce proof of citizenship. See the filing here. Georgia Coalition for the Peoples’ Agenda v Kemp, n.d., 1:18cv-4727.
On October 19, the Arizona Secretary of State released new registration data. See it here.
The percentages are: Republican 34.67%; Democratic 30.99%; Libertarian .85%; Green .17%; independent and miscellaneous 33.31%.
In January 2018, the percentages were: Republican 34.75%; Democratic 30.18%; Libertarian .87%; Green .19%; independent and miscellaneous 34.01%.
