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.

Paul Merritt Files for Reconsideration in U.S. District Court on Whether California Election Officials May Censor Candidate Statement in Voters Guide

Posted on by March 1, 2017
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On February 28, Paul Merritt, an independent candidate for U.S. Senate in California in the June 2016 primary, filed a request for reconsideration in Merritt v Padilla, U.S. District Court, central district, 8:16cv-606. California has a Voters Guide, which is postally mailed to all registered voters in advance of a federal or state election. The law permits candidates who are willing to pay to have a statement in the Guide, and does not restrict the content, except to require that candidates not discuss their opponents.

Merritt’s statement, which he paid for, said he is a registered independent. The Secretary of State deleted that information from the heading of his statement. A U.S. District Court ruled earlier this year that because it is legal in California to prevent independent candidates from having the ballot label “independent”, therefore it is also legal for the state to prevent this label from being in the heading of a candidate’s statement in the Guide.

The motion for reconsideration points out that when the 9th circuit upheld the ban on “independent” on the ballot, it said the ban doesn’t do much harm because a candidate has an “alternative way” to express his or her views in the Guide. Therefore, it is obvious the ballot and the Guide have different levels of government control. The Guide has less room for government control than the ballot.

Iowa Bill to Eliminate the State Income Tax Check-off for Political Parties is Withdrawn

Posted on by February 28, 2017
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On February 22, Iowa Representative Bobby Kaufmann withdrew HF 6. This is the bill that would have eliminated the checkoff on the state income tax form that is used by taxpayers to send a small donation to the political party of the taxpayer’s choice. The bill had passed a subcommittee but had made no further headway. It is not known why Representative Kaufmann withdrew his bill.

National Vote Totals for the Seven Presidential Candidates Last Year Who Were on the Ballot Somewhere but Who Got Under 1,000 Votes

Posted on by February 27, 2017
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The January 1, 2017 B.A.N. print issue carried election returns for the eight presidential candidates who got the most votes in November 2016. Unfortunately the internet version of that print issue chopped off the far right-hand column and Rocky De La Fuente’s votes are not posted. He received 33,136 votes, which is clear from the print version on paper, but not the internet version.

The February 1, 2017 B.A.N. print version has another 24 presidential candidates who were on the ballot in at least one state and received at least 1,000 votes.

For the sake of completeness, here are the final seven presidential candidates who were on the ballot somewhere but who did not get as many as 1,000 votes. They are:

1. Joseph Maldonado, independent, 962 votes.
2. Ryan Scott, independent, 751 votes.
3. Rod Silva, Nutrition Party, 751 votes.
4. Princess Jacob, Loyal, Trustworthy, Compassion, 749 votes.
5. Jerry White, Socialist Equality, 475 votes.
6. Bradford Lyttle, U.S. Pacifist Party, 382
7. Frank Atwood, Approval Voting Party, 337.

Thanks to WaunaKeegan for help with this compilation.