British newspapers have given great publicity and praise for a recent TV ad by the Green Party of England and Wales. The 4-minute film uses five-year-old children as stand-ins for leading British politicians. It is probably funnier for viewers who are already well-acquainted with current British political leaders and the big political issues of the day in Britain, but it is worth watching for U.S. viewers also. If the first link doesn’t work, try this.
This Vox article by Matt Grossmann recounts that Donald Trump sought the Reform Party presidential nomination in 2000. The theme of the story is that Pat Buchanan bested Trump. That is misleading. Donald Trump dropped out of contention early in the process. If he had stayed in, he probably would have defeated Buchanan.
The article makes passing reference to Trump’s entering two Reform Party presidential primaries and winning both of them. Those were the California and Michigan Reform presidential primaries. What the article does not say is that Buchanan didn’t even enter any Reform Party presidential primaries. The article also does not say that John Hagelin did remain in the race and did fight against Buchanan, and Hagelin put up a good fight. The Reform Party in 2000 had a mail ballot across the U.S. The vote was: Buchanan 49,529; Hagelin 28,539. The ballot was sent to all voters who signed a ballot access petition for the Reform Party or either of its presidential candidates, all voters registered with the Reform Party, and all other voters who requested a ballot.
The evidence is clear that Buchanan cheated. He submitted 500,000 names to the committee handling the mail ballot, and claimed they were all people who had signed his ballot access petitions, but a state-by-state breakdown makes it obvious that most of the names on Buchanan’s list weren’t people who had signed a petition. Hagelin did not have the clout to contest this behavior, but Trump certainly would have. For more details about the Reform Party’s 2000 all-mail presidential primary, see the September 1, 2000 printed Ballot Access News.
On April 6, U.S. District Court Judge David Nuffer upheld Utah’s severe petition requirements for candidates trying to get on a primary ballot. His 42-page opinion says it doesn’t matter how difficult the requirements are, because they are not mandatory. Candidates are also free to get on a primary ballot if they have substantial support at a party caucus.
The only authority Judge Nuffer cited for his conclusion is a decision of the Second Circuit, upholding Connecticut’s procedures for presidential candidates to get on presidential primary ballot. Connecticut law said candidates discussed in the news media should be on the ballot automatically, and others needed a petition. The Second Circuit agreed that the “discussed in the media” law is vague, but said it doesn’t matter, because candidates not discussed in the media are free to get on the primary ballot with a petition.
Contradicting that is a U.S. Supreme Court opinion from 1969, Moore v Ogilvie, 394 U.S. 814. That opinion, on page 818, says, “All procedures used by a State as an integral part of the election process must past muster against the charges of discrimination or of abridgment of the right to vote.” Judge Nuffer did not mention Moore v Ogilvie.
The primary petition requirements in Utah are so onerous, in some cases it would be impossible for more than one Republican to get on the primary ballot by petition, because the law does not let voters sign for more than a single candidate for the same office. In a few legislative districts, the petition requires signatures from over half the eligible signers, so obviously it would be impossible in such a district for two candidates to get on the ballot by petition.
Nebraska and Maine are the only two states in which each U.S. House district elects its own presidential elector. On April 4, a Nebraska bill to switch the state to the system used in the other 48 states won a procedural victory. The Senate voted 32-15 to cut off any filibuster against the bill. That vote required a two-thirds majority, which was met. It will now be easy to pass the bill, and it probably will pass soon. Nebraska has a unicameral legislature. The bill is LB 10, introduced January 8, 2015 by State Senator Beau McCoy (R-Omaha). Thanks to Tony Roza for this news.
On April 7, the Oklahoma House passed SB 1016. It removes the names of the qualified parties, and the checkboxes for each, from the voter registration form. Instead the voter registration form will simply ask the applicant to fill out the party name on a blank line. The measure is intended to save money. Under the old system, every time a party becomes qualified, or ceased to be qualified, the forms must be reprinted. But under the new policy, such reprinting won’t be needed.
The bill does not have an urgency clause, so it won’t take effect this year.
