On January 20, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that Gary Johnson’s vote in November 2016 did not create a new ballot-qualified party. The party asked for reconsideration on January 24, pointing out some errors in the court’s decision. Two weeks have elapsed and the court has not yet reacted to the request for reconsideration. Here is the docket sheet for the case from the court’s web page.
At least four Texas bills have been introduced to punish or thwart presidential electors who don’t vote for the presidential candidate who received the most popular votes in the state. Representative Bill Zedler introduced HB 1060, which says that such electors are guilty of a “jail felony.” Representative John Raney and three others introduced HB 543, which provides for a $5,000 fine and says the offender can never again qualify as a presidential elector. Representative Mike Schofield introduced HB 771, and Representative Pat Fallon introduced HB 1391. Those bills require parties to nominate alternate presidential elector candidates, and if an elector disobeys, he or she is replaced by an alternate. Thanks to Jim Riley for this news.
Illinois defines a “political party” as a group that got 5% in the previous election. If it got 5% for Governor, it is ballot-qualified for all office. If it got 5% for any other statewide race, it is then ballot-qualified for all the statewide races, but no others. And if it gets 5% for a district or county or municipal partisan office, then it is a party in that district or place.
Representative Allen Skillicorn (R-East Dundee) has introduced HB 762, which lowers the 5% to 2%. It also lowers the number of signatures for independent candidates, and the nominees of unqualified parties, so they are equal to the number needed by candidates petitioning for a place on the primary ballot. A similar provision is included in a Senate bill introduced several weeks ago, SB 63.
On February 6, the South Dakota Senate Local Government Committee amended HB 1037, to add a new provision that newly-qualifying parties that are willing to forego running candidates for Congress, Governor, or State Legislature will have a July 1 petition deadline, instead of a March petition deadline.
Before the amendment, the chief ballot access change being made by HB 1037 was to allow independent candidates for president to use a stand-in for vice-president, and to allow independent candidates for Governor to use a stand-in for Lieutenant Governor.
The new provision in HB 1037 does not actually change policy. Almost a year ago, on February 26, 2016, the Attorney General had ruled that newly-qualifying parties that only want to be on the general election ballot for president and the lesser statewide constitutional offices are free to submit their petition as late as July 11. The effect of 2017 amendment is to put that ruling into statutory law.
South Dakota primaries are in June. Obviously new parties that don’t submit their petition until July do not have a primary, and make their nominations by convention. South Dakota law already allows all parties, large and small, to nominate for certain offices by convention instead of primary. But for Congress, Governor, and state legislature, all parties must use a primary, so under the amendment (as well as under the 2016 Attorney General ruling), parties that use the July deadline can’t run for Congress, Governor or state legislature.
Because the Senate amended the bill, now it must return to the House. No legislator voted “no.”
Meanwhile, the Constitution and Libertarian Parties are pressing ahead with their lawsuit that maintains newly-qualifying parties cannot be forced to comply with a March deadline, even if they want to have nominees for all partisan office. Discovery is underway.
The American Delta Party and the Progressive Party have both filed paperwork to try to qualify as parties in Maine, for the 2018 election. The Constitution Party also tried to file, but the Secretary of State said there was a flaw in the paperwork.
