The ballot-qualified Reform Party of Mississippi has nominated Barbara Dale Washer for President. The Mississippi Reform Party has not nominated the national convention choice of the Reform Party since 2008.
The Mississippi Reform Party also nominated Washer in 2012. She got 1,016 votes in Mississippi and was not on the ballot in any other state.
The New York Independence Party has nominated Gary Johnson for President. This is a surprise, because the leaders of the Independence Party have in the past been very friendly with Donald Trump. The Independence Party sent out a press release on September 9 announcing its choice.
This means that Johnson will be on the ballot twice in New York state. His line on the Independence Party will be sixth on the ballot. His name on the Libertarian line will be ninth on the ballot.
When the Federal Election Commission looks at the election returns to see if Gary Johnson got 5% of the vote, which would make his campaign eligible for general election funding in December 2016, the FEC will count his votes on the Independence line as well as on the Libertarian line.
Other parties in New York that have made presidential nominations so far are the Conservative Party, which has nominated Donald Trump; and the Working Families Party, which has nominated Hillary Clinton. The Reform Party is expected to nominate Donald Trump, but it has not yet sent in its paperwork. Also the final paperwork for the Women’s Equality Party is not in yet. Two preliminary filings for the Women’s Equality Party are in conflict. One nominates Lynn Kahn and the other nominates Hillary Clinton.
On September 9, the Kentucky deadline for presidential independent petitions, Rocky De La Fuente and Evan McMullin submitted petitions. The state says they will have been checked by close of business Monday, September 12.
Gary Johnson and Jill Stein petitions were submitted earlier and had already been approved. Kentucky has no ballot-qualified parties except for the Democratic and Republican Parties.
The Connecticut Secretary of State has determined that Rocky De La Fuente’s independent presidential petition does not have enough valid signatures. The law requires 7,500. Information about how close he came is not now available, but this post will be amended when that information is obtained.
The Rhode Island Secretary of State has determined that three independent presidential candidates have enough valid signatures. They are Rocky De La Fuente, Gary Johnson, and Jill Stein.
Rhode Island has three ballot-qualified parties: Democratic, Moderate, and Republican. The Moderate Party has no presidential nominee.
Candidates who use the Rhode Island independent petition procedure may choose a party label. De La Fuente’s label is “American Delta”; Johnson’s is “Libertarian”; Stein’s is “Green.” If any of these get 5% of the vote, that will cause that group to become ballot-qualified.
Evan McMullin did not petition in Rhode Island because the state requires independent presidential candidates to have their presidential elector candidates file a declaration of candidacy in June. No one has ever sued to overturn this law.
Lynn Kahn, an independent presidential candidate, and Darrell Castle, the Constitution Party nominee, filed the paperwork in June but then did not actually gather the signatures, or at least did not gather enough.
