New Mexico State Court to Hear Better for America Case over Petition Validity on September 8

Posted on by September 7, 2016
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A New Mexico state court will hear Better for America v Winter on September 8, Thursday. The issue is whether the party petition has enough valid signatures. If Better for America gets on the ballot, it will nominate Evan McMullin for President. This is the first and, so far, only court case over ballot access filed by anyone associated with Evan McMullin’s campaign. The case is in Santa Fe District Court, d-101-cv-2016-1955.

The Secretary of State had determined that the petition lacks approximately 86 signatures from meeting the requirement of 2,565.

North Dakota Says All Three Independent Presidential Petitions are Valid

Posted on by September 7, 2016
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The North Dakota Secretary of State says all three independent presidential petitions are valid. They are for Darrell Castle, Rocky De La Fuente, and Jill Stein. The qualified parties in North Dakota are Democratic, Libertarian, and Republican.

North Dakota doesn’t have voter registration. Therefore, there is no list to check the petition signatures against. The North Dakota Secretary of State’s office has a good sense of whether a petition seem honest. If there is any doubt, a random sample of signers are sent a postcard, and if more than a few postcards comes back with a post office notation that there is no such address, then further investigation is done. This year, for these petitions, nothing seemed amiss.

Evan McMullin Will Not be on Florida Ballot

Posted on by September 7, 2016
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Florida has several ballot-qualified parties that have not nominated anyone for President. It had been thought plausible that either the Independent Party, or the Independence Party, might nominate him for President. But the Florida Secretary of State’s office said neither of those parties nominated anyone for President.

This Politico story says that in the states in which McMullin is on the ballot, it is now too late for him to replace his stand-in vice-presidential nominee with his actual vice-presidential nominee. The stand-in, Nathan Johnson, never wanted to actually run for vice-president. The reporter, Daniel Strauss, was unaware that there is case law from Florida, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Virginia, South Dakota, and Alaska which says independent presidential candidates (or independent candidates for Governor) have a right to replace their stand-in vice-presidential or lieutenant governor running mates with an actual candidate later. In 1980, John Anderson was permitted to replace his stand-in for vice-president, Milton Eisenhower, with former Wisconsin Governor Patrick Lucey, even though Lucey wasn’t chosen until August 27, 1980. Lucey’s name was on all ballots except South Dakota’s.

Three California Minor Party or Independent Lawsuits Now Pending in Ninth Circuit

Posted on by September 6, 2016
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The Ninth Circuit has three California cases filed by minor parties or independent candidates. Soltysik v Padilla, 16-55758, challenges state law that won’t let members of unqualified parties have their party label on ballots, if they are running for Congress or partisan state office. That case is moving slowly and no briefs have been filed. The plaintiff is a registered Socialist.

De La Fuente v Padilla, 16-56261, is an appeal of the denial of a preliminary injunction. It challenges the law that requires an independent presidential candidate to collect 178,039 valid signatures in 105 days. The court has already determined that the case is not suitable for mediation, and briefs will probably be filed soon, although no matter what happens, it is unlikely that the 2016 ballot will be affected.

Independent Party v Padilla, 16-15895, challenges a decision by the Secretary of State that the Independent Party cannot become a political body because its name is so similar to the American Independent Party, which is already on the ballot. The Independent Party’s opening brief was filed on August 25, 2016.