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.

Utah Republican Party Will Continue to Challenge Law that Lets Candidates Get on Primary Ballot by Petition

Posted on by February 27, 2017
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On February 25, the Utah Republican Party changed its mind, and decided to continue to sue over the recent law that lets candidates petition for a spot on the primary ballot, even if they haven’t shown substantial support at a party nominating convention. See this story.

The Republican Party filed the lawsuit in January 2016, and lost in U.S. District Court. Utah Republicans are very uncomfortable with the law, which was passed in 2014. Every state has procedures for candidates to get on a primary ballot even if they lack support at a party meeting, but Utah has not had such a procedure in the past, and Republicans strongly desire to limit candidates in its primary to only those with at least 35% endorsement at a party convention. The lawsuit is Utah Republican Party v Herbert, Tenth Circuit number 16-4058.

North Carolina Bill, Making Local Judicial Races Partisan, Passes House

Posted on by February 27, 2017
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On February 22, the North Carolina House passed HB 100. It makes local judicial elections partisan instead of non-partisan. Assuming the bill passes, all judicial elections in the state will be partisan. Already State Supreme Court elections, and State Appeals Court elections, are partisan.

The bill says independent candidates for local judicial office need a petition of 2% of the number of registered voters. This is lower than the existing requirement for independent candidates for legislature and U.S. House. Independents for those offices need 4% of the number of registered voters. The 4% standard is so difficult, no independent candidate for U.S. House has ever appeared on a North Carolina general election ballot, and only two independents ever appeared for State Senate.

Pennsylvania Green Party Asks State Supreme Court to Put Cheri Honkala on Ballot for Special Legislative Election

Posted on by February 27, 2017
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On February 21, the Pennsylvania Green Party asked the State Supreme Court to put Cheri Honkala on the March 21 special election ballot (for the state representative vacant seat in the 197th district). The case is Green Party of Pennsylvania v Department of State, 11 MAP 2017.

The link to the party’s brief also includes the order of the lower court, which had denied the request. The issue is the deadline for filing paperwork to be on the ballot. The statute appears to contradict itself. One reference in the statute suggests the deadline was January 30, but another suggests it is January 31. The party filed on January 31.

New York Times Carries Obituary for Jerome Tuccille, the Libertarian Party’s Second Gubernatorial Candidate

Posted on by February 26, 2017
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The New York Times has this obituary for Jerome Tuccille. He was tied for being the second Libertarian Party gubernatorial candidate on the ballot in any state. The party had no gubernatorial candidates in any state until 1973, when John Goodson was on in New Jersey. Tuccille got on the ballot in New York in 1974 and polled 10,503 votes. The party only had one other gubernatorial candidate in 1974 on the ballot in any state, in Minnesota. Thanks to Mark Axinn for the link.