New Mexico Independent Candidate Files Opening Brief in Tenth Circuit in Ballot Access Case

Posted on by August 12, 2015
1

On August 12, James Tyson Parker filed his opening brief in his ballot access lawsuit, Parker v Duran, 15-2088. The issue is the New Mexico law that requires independent candidates to submit a petition of 3% of the last gubernatorial vote, whereas minor party nominees (for office other than President) only need a petition of 1% of the last gubernatorial vote. Parker collected enough signatures under the minor party standard, but because he was an independent candidate, that wasn’t good enough and he was kept off the ballot last year. He had been running for Public Education Commission, a partisan office.

Because Parker didn’t get on the ballot, there was only one candidate on the ballot in November for that office, a Democrat who was only required to get 272 signatures to get on the primary ballot. Parker needed 2,196 signatures and submitted 1,379. A minor party nominee would have needed 732. The U.S. District Court had upheld the law.

St. Petersburg Times Carries Op-Ed Suggesting that Florida Should Not Switch to a Top-Two System

Posted on by August 12, 2015
3

Martin Dyckman, a retired associate editor of the St. Petersburg Times, has this op-ed, pointing out flaws in the top-two initiative that is now circulating in Florida. But he does support some method of letting independent voters vote in primaries. He does not mention the fact that the Florida Democratic Party is thinking of letting independent voters vote in its primaries.

Dyckman suggests instant runoff voting.

Greenville, South Carolina, Returns to Partisan Elections for City Office

Posted on by August 12, 2015
1

On August 11, Greenville, South Carolina, held an open primary for Republicans running against each other for city council. There was no Democratic primary because no Democrats filed.

This was the first partisan primary Greenville had held for city office in several years. Greenville had partisan city elections in the past, but the city council switched them to nonpartisan elections a few years ago. But then voters who prefer partisan elections submitted a referendum petition to go back to partisan elections, and the city council reinstated them.

At the primary yesterday, the only incumbent council member who was defeated, Susan Reynolds, had supported nonpartisan elections. See this story.

The reinstatement of partisan elections gives the Greenville County Republican Party a new opportunity to return to court, if it wishes. The county Republican Party had challenged the open primary on the grounds that the party is required to pay for the administration of primaries for city office. The party argued that if the party pays for the primary, it should have the right to prevent members of other parties from voting in the Republican primary. But while the lawsuit was underway, the city had switched to nonpartisan elections, so the Fourth Circuit had dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that it was moot. But, now it isn’t moot.