Independent Party Won’t Have Any Nominee for U.S. Senate in Connecticut

Posted on by September 19, 2016
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On September 19, a Connecticut state trial court refused to order the Secretary of State to print any nominee for the Independent Party for U.S. Senate. There are two factions of that party, and each faction nominated someone different. The Secretary of State says she doesn’t know which faction to recognize, so she won’t print anyone on the ballot for any statewide office. The state court decision sustains the Secretary of State’s action. See this story.

The party will now lose its ballot qualification for U.S. Senate. Connecticut is the only state in which qualified status is separate for each office. The lawsuit will continue, and each faction hopes to eventually win a ruling over who the true state officers are.

Virginia Bill for a Top-Two System

Posted on by September 20, 2016
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Virginia Delegate Sam Rasoul (D-Roanoke) has filed a 2017 bill to convert all partisan elections (except presidential elections) to a top-two system. It is HB 541 and is a proposed constitutional amendment. See this story. The story is incorrect when it says that Nebraska and Louisiana have top-two systems. Louisiana has abolished primaries (except presidential primaries) and only has a general election. In the few cases when no one gets a majority, there is a run-off. Louisiana does not vote for Congress until November. Nebraska has semi-closed primaries for all partisan office. Because Nebraska has non-partisan elections for the State Senate, proponents of top-two frequently claim Nebraska has a top-two primary, but that claim is incorrect.

Currently Virginia has open primaries. The voter registration form in Virginia does not ask the applicant to choose a party or independent status. So on primary day, any voter can choose any party’s primary ballot.

If the United States had a top-two system for president, the only candidates who would be allowed to run in the general election this year would be Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

Two Minor Party Candidates File Federal Lawsuit Against West Virginia for Removing Them From Ballot

Posted on by September 20, 2016
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On September 19, Darrell Castle, Constitution Party presidential nominee, and Naomi Spencer Daly, Socialist Equality Party nominee for state legislture, sued the West Virginia Secretary of State for removing them from the ballot. Daly v Tennant, s.d., 3:16cv-8981. The case is assigned to Judge Robert Chambers, a Clinton appointee.

On Friday, September 16, at 6:30 p.m., an agent of the West Virginia Secretary of State had phoned or e-mailed 17 petition candidates (mostly independent candidates, but including three Constitution Party nominees and one Socialist Equality nominee) and said even though they had already been certified for the ballot, they were being removed, because they hadn’t filed a declaration of candidacy in January. The lawsuit argues that (a) that early deadline is unconstitutional for candidates seeking a spot on the November ballot; (b) it violates due process to remove candidates from the ballot so close to the election, after having put them on.

Georgia Secretary of State Now Says Laurence Kotlikoff May be a Declared Write-in Presidential Candidate

Posted on by September 20, 2016
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Laurence Kotlikoff is an economist who is filing to be a write-in presidential candidate in every state that has procedures for write-in presidential candidates to file to have their write-ins counted. On September 19, the Georgia Secretary of State told his campaign that he will be be allowed to receive write-ins in Georgia. Earlier the state had denied him this status, on the grounds that he hadn’t included an affidavit saying the notice of his candidacy had been published in a newspaper. But then the state realized that he had filed that affidavit, but the state had misplaced it.