New Oklahoma Registration Tally

Posted on by March 28, 2017
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As of March 28, these are the Oklahoma voter registration totals by party: Republican 991,967; Democratic 850,509; Libertarian 4,125; independent and miscellaneous 319,091.

The totals in October 2016 were: Republican 983,932; Democratic 856,717; Libertarian 3,599; independent and miscellaneous 313,191.

The percentages now are: Republican 45.80%; Democratic 39.27%; Libertarian .19%; independent and miscellaneous 14.73%. The percentages in October 2016 were: Republican 45.61%; Democratic 39.71%; Libertarian .17%; independent and miscellaneous 14.52%.

Although the Libertarian total is still low, it is the highest for any third party in Oklahoma since 1972, when the American Party had 6,035. The Reform Party never had as many as 1,000 registrants in Oklahoma.

Hearing Set in Montana Special Election Ballot Access Lawsuit

Posted on by March 27, 2017
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A U.S. District Court Judge will hear Breck v Stapleton on Tuesday, April 4, in Great Falls. This is the case over whether Montana can force independent candidates in the special U.S. House election to submit 14,268 valid signatures by March 6, when the special election wasn’t called until March 1. The law also requires a filing fee of 1% of the salary, $1,740, unless the candidate is a pauper.

The case is now assigned to Judge Brian Morris instead of Dana Christensen. Both are Obama appointees. Probably Judge Christensen’s schedule did not permit him to handle this case, because it is moving very fast. The lawsuit was filed on March 22. The special election is May 25.

Arkansas Libertarian Party Begins Petition to Restore Qualified Status

Posted on by March 27, 2017
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On March 25, the Arkansas Libertarian Party launched its petition drive to regain its qualified party status. Here is a copy of the petition. Arkansas law requires such petitions to be completed in three months. It requires 10,000 signatures.

The petition wouldn’t be necessary if the party had polled enough votes in November 2016, but the vote test requires 3% for President (in presidential years) or 3% for Governor (in gubernatorial years). In 2016 Gary Johnson got 2.64% in Arkansas.

The state legislature has been asked several times to modify the vote test so that it is not so onerous. For example, if the law required 3% for any statewide race, the Libertarian Party (and also the Green Party, which has been qualified in Arkansas in the recent past) would easily have remained on the ballot. In 2016, the Libertarian nominee for U.S. Senate, Frank Gilbert, polled 3.96%. In 2014, six statewide Libertarian nominees polled over 3%.

Because the Libertarian Party will be a “new” party when it completes its 2018 petition, it will nominate by convention. If it had remained on the ballot after the November 2016 election, by contrast, it would be required to nominate by primary. Ironically, if it nominated by primary in 2018, anyone who wants a Libertarian nomination would need to file by February 2018. But because the party will nominate by convention in 2018, it can recruit candidates as late as March 2018 and then decide whether to nominate them by May.