COFOE, the Coalition for Free & Open Elections, is now 40 years old. COFOE is a loose coalition of some of the nation’s nationally-organized minor parties, plus other organizations that support tolerant ballot access. The founding meeting to bring such an organization into existence was held February 9, 1985, at 113 University Place, New York. Representatives of the Citizens, Communist, Humanist, Libertarian, New Alliance, Populist, and Socialist Party attended, along with Art Eisenberg of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

The March 16 meeting, also held in New York, created the Statement of Principles.

The May 11 meeting, also held in New York, chose the name “Coalition for Free & Open Elections.”

Back then, before the internet and e-mail, and before cheap long distance phone rates, it was felt necessary for the group to meet monthly in person, and the various representatives were all individuals who lived in or near New York city.

COFOE still exists, and was the group that financed the lawsuit filed late last year to overturn the California top-two system. COFOE gets all its revenue from kind subscribers to Ballot Access News who send donations. COFOE thanks all of its donors.

This is old news, not previously mentioned here. On March 25, Pennsylvania held two special legislative elections. Libertarians were on the ballot in both of them.

In the State Senate election in the 36th district, in Lancaster County, the results were: Democratic 50.04%; Republican 49.07%; Libertarian .89%. This seat had been considered safe for the Republicans for so long, that in 2022, the last time it was up, the Republican nominee had been the only name on the ballot.

The other district, the State House, 36th district, had these results: Democratic 63.47%; Republican 34.98%; Libertarian 1.55%. In 2024 in this district, the only candidate had been the Democrat. The district is in Allegheny County.

On April 15, Jim Walden, the New York city mayoral candidate who wants “Independence” as his ballot label, filed this reply brief in Walder v Kosinski, 25-764.

In 2022 the New York legislature banned the words “Independence” and “independent” from ever being part of a qualified party’s name. Election officials therefore won’t even permit an independent candidate to use either of those words in his or her ballot label. New York is one of the 25 states that lets an independent candidate choose a party label that is not too long and not obscene. But this interpretation of the 2022 law means that a New York independent candidate can’t even have the word “independent” as a ballot label, which is absurd.