Utah Bill for a Presidential Primary Advances

Posted on by March 2, 2017
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On February 21, the Utah House passed HB 204, which sets up presidential primaries in Utah. On February 28, the bill passed the Senate Government Operations Committee. The bill does not include details of how the primary would be run, how candidates would get on the ballot, or even the date. Presumably if HB 204 is signed into law, bills in the near future would include details.

The bill does not exclude any qualified parties. In some states, only large qualified parties are provided with presidential primaries.

Maine Bill to Force Independent Candidates to Appear on Ballot Only as “Unenrolled”

Posted on by March 1, 2017
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Maine Representative Beth Turner (R-Burlington) has introduced LD 568, which eliminates the ability of an independent candidate to use the label “independent” on the ballot. It also eliminates the ability of an unqualified party to place nominees on the ballot with that party’s label.

A somewhat similar law was struck down by the Massachusetts Supreme Court in 1981. The State Supreme Court decision was unanimous, and said “independent” is too important a label to be banned. The Massachusetts law that was struck down forced all independents to be on the ballot as “unenrolled.” The decision is Bachrach v Secretary of the Commonwealth, 415 NE 2d 832.

Also, in 1986, a Maine state trial court struck down the old Maine law on labels for petitioning candidates. The old pre-1986 law said they could have no label whatsoever, but in Huber v Quinn, that policy was struck down. Ever since the 1986 Maine decision, petitioning candidates in Maine have been free to choose any partisan label as long as it is no longer than three words and does not mimic the name of a qualified party. Thanks to John Branson for news about LD 568.

Montana Sets U.S. House Special Election Date

Posted on by March 1, 2017
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On March 1, Montana state officials said the state will hold a special U.S. House election on May 25, to replace Ryan Zinke, who was confirmed for a place in the cabinet the same day.

Here are the ballot access rules for the special election. Independent candidates need 14,268 valid signatures by March 4, plus a filing fee of $1,740. This requirement is utterly irrational and may be the subject of a judicial challenge.

Arkansas Governor Signs Ballot Access Bill

Posted on by March 1, 2017
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On March 1, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson signed HB 1532. It moves the deadline for a newly-qualifying party to choose its nominees from November of the year before the election, to May of the election Year. This is the most significant ballot access improvement that has been made by any legislature so far in 2017.

Libertarian Party Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Kentucky Case over Definition of a Qualified Party

Posted on by March 1, 2017
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On February 28, the Kentucky Libertarian Party asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Libertarian Party of Kentucky v Grimes, 16-1034. The issue is the state’s definition of “political party.” The only method to become a qualified party in Kentucky is to poll 2% of the vote for President. Thus, it is impossible for a group to ever become a qualified party in advance of any particular election, and it is impossible for it to become a qualified party in a midterm year, or an odd year.

The only other state with this characteristic is Washington.

It happens that the Kentucky Libertarian Party is now a qualified party, because it polled over 2% for President in November 2016, but that does not blunt the logic of the party’s complaint.