The Public Policy Institute has this analysis of the California top-two system. The analysis is by political scientist Eric McGhee. He wrotes that, now that we know the results of the 2016 primary, it can be said that top-two “has been fairly kind to establishment candidates.”
On June 9, U.S. District Court Judge Karen Schreier issued a 16-page opinion in Libertarian Party of South Dakota v Krebs, 4:15cv-4111. It denies the state’s request for an opinion upholding the South Dakota petition deadline for new party petitions. That deadline is in late March.
South Dakota requires primaries for all parties, even new parties. The state defended the March deadline on the grounds that it takes time to prepare for a new party’s primary. However, the opinion says the state would be free to let newly-qualifying parties nominate by convention. This is especially obvious in South Dakota, because all parties in South Dakota, new and old, use conventions in the summer to nominate for certain state offices.
Counterpunch has an interview with Rick Lass, who is Jill Stein’s ballot access coordinator. The article is useful for explaining ballot access for small parties, including the point that many states have restrictive vote tests for a party to remain on the ballot, and therefore in those states minor parties must submit petitions in every election, over and over.
On May 31, ten Michigan Representatives introduced HB 5709. It would alter the order of offices on general election ballots. First would come all ballot measures, followed by partisan offices. Township offices would appear first, then state offices, then Congress, then President. Michigan will not be using a straight-ticket device in 2016, for the first time in a century or more. The bill’s sponsors are afraid that without their bill, many voters will only vote for the most important offices, and skip the lesser offices. Here is the text of the bill.
The Peace & Freedom Party of California will hold its state convention (which is also a presidential nominating event) in Sacramento on August 13-14.
