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North Carolina Attorney General Files Procedural Brief in Lawsuit Over Exclusion of Independent Voters from Election Boards

Posted on September 14, 2017 by Richard WingerSeptember 14, 2017

On September 8, North Carolina’s Attorney General filed this brief in Crowell v Bipartisan State Board of Elections, m.d., 1:17cv-515. This is the case that challenges the North Carolina policy that will never permit an independent voter to be a member of the state board of elections, or any county board of elections. The case is assigned to Judge William Osteen, a Bush Jr. appointee.

The brief does not discuss the merits of the case. Instead, it reacts to the request by North Carolina legislative leaders that they be allowed to intervene in the case. The Attorney General’s brief says that the Attorney General is capable of defending the state law, and that there is no reason for the legislature to intervene in the case. But, it says that the Attorney General won’t oppose intervention by the legislature. The Attorney General is a Democrat and Republicans have a majority in each house of the legislature.

The Attorney General’s brief is interesting because it sets forth the position of the Governor, who is also a Democrat. The brief says the Governor has never taken any position that independents should be allowed to sit on election boards.

Jackie Salit Article on Donald J. Trump’s 2000 Run for the Reform Party Presidential Nomination

Posted on September 13, 2017 by Richard WingerSeptember 14, 2017

On September 10, the New York Times ran an article mentioning that Donald J. Trump sought the Reform Party nomination in 2000, for a while. He entered two Reform Party presidential primaries, in California and Michigan, and won both of them. The title of that article was “Bound to No Party, Trump Upends 150 Years of Two-Party Rule.” It says, “In the end, Trump dropped the campaign and the Reform Party.”

Jackie Salit, a former leader of the New Alliance Party, and then the Reform Party, and now President of Independent Voting, has an article in Huffington Post that disputes the New York Times. She writes, “Here’s the correction to the fake news…I was there. I know what happened. The Reform Party dropped Trump, not the other way around.”

The most comprehensive history of the Reform Party is Patricia Muth’s “A Title in the Making: Perot Movement Laid the Foundation to Take Back America. Where Do We Go From Here?” It was published in 2016 and is 468 pages. About Trump’s run for the Reform nomination in 2000, it says on page 450, “There were others taking a look at the Reform Party for a presidential run. Real Estate tycoon Donald Trump joined Buchanan and Ventura. According to the Baltimore Sun, Trump surprised conservatives when he announced he was forming an exploratory committee to seek the Reform Party presidential nomination in 2000. On October 8, 1999, the Baltimore Sun reported: “Trump, describing his poll numbers as ‘unbelievable’ said on CNN that he was forming a committee to advise him on a possible run.”

“‘I believe non-politicians represent the wave of the future, and if elected, I would make the kind of president America needs. In the new millenium, I would center my presidency around three principles: one term, two-fisted policies, and no excuses,’ Trump told the Wall Street Journal. Polls put Trump and Buchanan at 7% and 8% respectively. Once Trump made his announcement, Jesse Ventura, a longtime friend of Trump’s, seemed to bow out. He told AP that his friend ‘may end up being a good candidate for us. The builder seems to parallel me a lot.”

“In January 2000, Donald Trump invited Reform Party leaders to his Mar-a-Lago Club — a 126-room mansion in Palm Beach — on the Atlantic Ocean. Gayle and Russ Verney had the pleasure of dining with him after the reception, and found Trump to be ‘a most gracious host.’ But the grand meeting did not evolve into a campaign. As the election drew closer, the master of branding, public relations and negotiations, had succeeded in causing a buzz but decided it was not the time.”

Red Dirt Report Describes Process for Oklahoma Libertarian Party, Deciding Whether to Let Independent Voters Vote in the Libertarian Primary

Posted on September 13, 2017 by Richard WingerSeptember 13, 2017

The Red Dirt Report here describes the process by which the Oklahoma Libertarian Party is deciding whether to let independents vote in the 2018 Libertarian primary. The final decision will be made on October 7.

Back in 2000, the Oklahoma Libertarian Party was also entitled to its own primary, and that year it voted to let all registered voters vote in its primary. However, the State Board of Elections would not permit the party to invite members of other parties to vote in the Libertarian primary. The party sued, and won in the Tenth Circuit. However, then the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Tenth Circuit, in Clingman v Beaver.

College Park Becomes the Seventh Municipality in Maryland to Let Non-Citizens Vote in Local Elections

Posted on September 13, 2017 by Richard WingerSeptember 13, 2017

On September 12, the city council of College Park, Maryland, voted 4-3 to allow all adult residents (except ex-felons) to vote in city elections, regardless of citizenship status. See this story. College Park is in Montgomery County.

The other Maryland municipalities that already let non-citizens vote in local elections are Takoma Park, Somerset, Glen Echo, Martin’s Additions (all in Montgomery County); and also Hyattsville and Mt. Rainier (both of them are in Prince Georges County). Montgomery and Princes Georges Counties are the two Maryland counties that border Washington, D.C. Thanks to Michael Drucker for the news.

Oklahoma Election Returns for Special Legislative Election

Posted on September 13, 2017 by Richard WingerSeptember 13, 2017

On September 12, Oklahoma held a special election to fill the vacant state house seat, 46th district. Here are the unofficial returns. The only two candidates were a Democrat and a Republican. The Democrat won with 60.41%.

When this seat was last up, in November 2016, there were also just two candidates, a Democrat and a Republican. In that November 2016 election, the Republican won with 60.41% of the vote. It is just a coincidence that the percentage for the winner was the same in both elections. Jacob Rosecrants was the Democratic nominee in both elections. The district is centered on Norman.