The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has this op-ed by Chris Holbrook, criticizing the state’s restrictive definition of “political party.” The state requires a statewide vote of 5%, whereas the median vote test in the 50 states is 2%. Minnesota is one of only eight states with no ballot-qualified parties other than the Democratic and Republican Parties. The others are Alabama, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington. Thanks to Dave Cummings for the link.
John Conyers III, son of former Congressman John Conyers, will petition as an independent candidate for his father’s old seat, the 13th district seat in Michigan. See this story. Thanks to Thomas Jones for this news.
The Indiana petition deadline for independent candidates, and the nominees of unqualified parties, has passed. No such petition for any statewide office, or any U.S. House seat, succeeded. Here is the list of candidates for November.
The Green Party tried to obtain the needed 26,700 valid signatures for its nominee for Secretary of State, George Wolfe, but did not get enough signatures. Wolfe has filed as a declared write-in candidate.
Independent U.S. Senate candidate Nathan Altman also failed to get enough signatures, and has filed as a write-in candidate.
No statewide petition has succeeded in Indiana since 2000, when Pat Buchanan petitioned as the Reform Party presidential nominee. There is no other state in which it has been so many years since either a statewide independent, or a newly-qualifying party, got on the ballot for statewide office. Even Americans Elect did not succeed in Indiana in 2011-2012, partly because Indiana forces petitioning groups to choose their nominees before the petition can begin to circulate.
The Illinois period for challenging independent candidate petitions, and the petitions of unqualified party nominees, ended on July 2. No one challenged either the statewide Libertarian candidate petition, nor the gubernatorial petition of the Conservative Party. See this Chicago Sun-Times story. Thanks to Dianna Visek for the link.
On June 25, the New Hampshire Ballot Law Commission voted to keep Tom Alciere on the Libertarian primary ballot for U.S. House, 2nd district. He is a registered Libertarian and he paid the filing fee. However, some party officers filed a challenge to his ballot placement on the grounds that he is not a bona fide member of the party. In some states, such as Alabama, Tennessee, and Missouri, candidates may be kept off primary ballots if the party determines that the candidate is not a bona fide member. New Hampshire election law does not recognize the ability of party leaders to exert veto power over candidates.
