Rhode Island Deadline for Declarations of Candidacy is June 27, Wednesday

Posted on by June 28, 2018
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Rhode Island requires independent candidates, and the nominees of unqualified parties, to file a declaration of candidacy by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, July 27. The petitions aren’t due until July 10. Statewide candidates need 1,000 signatures.

The only statewide candidates from unqualified parties are two candidates of the Compassion Party, which wants to legalize marijuana. They are Anne Armstrong for Governor, and Alan Gordon for Attorney General.

The Libertarian Party has several candidates for the legislature. No Green Party candidates for any federal or state office filed.

Rhode Island has three ballot-qualified parties, Democratic, Republican, and Moderate. The Moderate Party has one candidate for Governor, and one for Lieutenant Governor (the two offices are elected separately). The party needs to poll at least 5% for Governor in order to retain its qualified status.

U.S. District Court in Virgin Islands Sends Ballot Access Case to Territorial Court

Posted on by June 27, 2018
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On June 25, a U.S. District Court in the U.S. Virgin Islands said it would not now rule on whether independent candidate Positive Nelson should be on the November 2018 ballot. Instead, Nelson must seek relief from the territorial court. The Virgin Islands elects its governor and lieutenant governor as a team. The ticket had been rejected because the Lieutenant Governor candidate, Gary Udhwani, may not have been a registered voter when the petition was submitted. Udhwani had been a registered voter in the past, and his name was apparently purged without telling him. Also he collected some of the signatures, and the Virgin Islands law does not allow unregistered individuals to circulate a petition (although that policy violates the U.S. Supreme Court decision American Constitutional Law Foundation v Buckley).

If the territorial court gives no relief, the U.S. District Court will then take action. Nelson v Fawkes, 1:18cv-17.

U.S. Supreme Court Overrules Two Previous U.S. Supreme Court Opinions This Week

Posted on by June 27, 2018
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It is rare for the U.S. Supreme Court to ever say that a previous U.S. Supreme Court opinion was decided incorrectly, but that has happened on both June 26, 2018, and June 27, 2018.

On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court said in Trump v Hawaii, 17-965, that the Court had been wrong in 1944 when it upheld internment for U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry, in Korematsu v U.S., 323 U.S. 214.

On June 27, the U.S. Supreme Court said in Janus v American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, 16-1466, that the 1977 decision Abood v Detroit Board of Education, 431 U.S. 209, had been wrong. The issue in both cases was whether a government employee can be forced to make payments to a labor union as a condition of employment.

New Mexico Libertarian Primary Write-in Total for Governor So Far is Below Minimum Needed

Posted on by June 27, 2018
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Like most states that allow write-in primaries, New Mexico sets a minimum number of votes that a write-in candidate must receive, in order to be nominated and appear on the November ballot. This year, New Mexico Libertarians running for statewide office need 230 write-in votes. It isn’t enough to just get the most votes in the primary; the minimum must be met.

The New Mexico Secretary of State’s official tally says the party’s candidate for Governor only got 175 write-in votes. See this story. Voters who cast a write-in vote are supposed to fill in the bubble on the paper ballot next to the write-in line. Otherwise the vote-counting scanner won’t count the write-in. The Libertarian Party is asking for a hand recount, which should not be very expensive because there were only about 850 voters who cast a ballot in the Libertarian primary. The party believes that if they can get a hand count, that will find more write-in votes from voters who didn’t fill in the bubble.

Courts in other states have been split over whether such write-ins can be counted. Washington and Colorado state courts ruled that they should count, but California courts ruled that they should not, although later the California law was changed to validate such write-ins if they make a difference. Thanks to Rick Lass for the link.

All Three Oklahoma Qualified Parties Will Need a Runoff Primary on August 28

Posted on by June 27, 2018
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Oklahoma held primaries on June 26. Oklahoma requires that all qualified parties nominate by primary. The state also requires a runoff primary for races in which no one got as much as 50% in the first primary.

Here are the election returns, via the State Board of Elections’ web page. All three parties appear likely to need a runoff primary this year. The Libertarian Party only had one contested primary, for Governor. So far Chris Powell has 49%, Rex Lawhorn has 31%, and Joe Exotic has 19%.

The state elections web page has the solitary Libertarian primary race tucked underneath the Republican results, and just above the Democratic results. Oklahoma doesn’t permit write-ins, and when only a single candidate files for any primary, that office is removed from the ballot and the single candidate is deemed nominated.

Democrats will need a runoff for Corporation Commissioner, and Republicans will need a runoff for many statewide offices, including Governor.