Federal Election Commission Stands by Its 2014 Audit Decision that Gary Johnson 2012 Campaign was Overpaid $332,191 in Primary Season Matching Funds

Posted on by April 13, 2016
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On May 31, 2014, the Federal Election Commission determined that it had overpaid Gary Johnson’s 2012 campaign $332,000 in primary season matching funds. See the 2014 document here.

On April 5, 2016, the FEC rejected the Johnson campaign’s argument that the 2014 decision was in error. See that conclusion here.

It is not uncommon for presidential candidates who receive primary season matching funds to later be found to have been overpaid. For example, in 1992, Lenora Fulani received $2,011,929.42 in primary season matching funds. In 1995 the FEC determined that she had been overpaid $612,557.32. Upon reconsideration, however, the FEC lowered the overpayment determination to $117,269.54.

Johnson received $632,017 in 2012 primary season matching funds. Thanks to Thomas Knapp for the link to the April 2016 document.

Pennsylvania Ballot Access Hearing Goes Well in Third Circuit

Posted on by April 13, 2016
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On April 13, the Third Circuit heard oral arguments in Constitution Party of Pennsylvania v Aichele, 15-3046. The issue is the unique Pennsylvania system that puts petitioning groups at risk of court costs of up to $110,000 if they submit a petition that doesn’t have enough valid signatures. Last year a U.S. District Court had invalidated the system. On the appeal, the state did not actually disagree with the substance of the lower court decision; instead it argued that the decision should be overturned because the plaintiffs had sued the wrong Defendants. However, the three judges at the Third Circuit oral argument seemed to disagree with the state about that.

There was much discussion about what the remedy should be for the 2016 election. The attorney for the three parties that filed the case (Constitution, Green, and Libertarian) mentioned that the legislature has had a ballot access bill pending. SB 495, since last year. He said the legislature could pass that bill and fill the gap in the law. He mentioned that the Libertarian Party has over 45,000 registered members in Pennsylvania, and surely that shows that party has already shown a modicum of support and should not be required to submit a 2016 petition. The pending bill also uses registration instead of petitions to determine which parties should be on the ballot. The hearing lasted 30 minutes and supporters of the lawsuit were in the audience.

In Surprise Vote, Nebraska Retains System Letting Each U.S. House District Elect its Own Presidential Elector

Posted on by April 13, 2016
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On April 12, Nebraska LB 10 failed to pass. This is the bill to convert Nebraska to a system used in 48 other states, in which the presidential candidate who carries the state wins all of the state’s presidential electors. The outcome was a surprise, because on April 4, the legislature had voted by more than two-thirds to kill the filibuster against the bill.

On April 4, the current system only had support from 15 State Senators, but on April 12, the current system was supported by 17 State Senators. Two State Senators, both Republicans, switched their votes. Tommy Garrett, from Bellevue, is in his first term; Bob Krist, from Omaha, is in his second term. Thanks to Rick Hasen for this news.

Maine Bill for a Presidential Primary Advances

Posted on by April 12, 2016
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Both houses of the Maine legislature have given preliminary approval to LD 1673. The Senate passed it April 11 and the House on April 12. It sets up a presidential primary for Maine. The date would be set by the Secretary of State, but the primary would be on one of the Tuesdays in March. The Secretary of State would set the date by December of the year before the election.

Candidates would need 2,000 signatures. Only party members could vote in the presidential primaries. The bill also says the Secretary of State shall study how much the primaries would cost and report by December 1, 2017. If the Maine legislature wants to save money, it should provide for filing fees instead of signatures, because it costs tax dollars to check petition validity. Or the Maine legislature could have provided that candidates discussed in the news media be placed on the ballot automatically. Thanks to Thomas MacMillan for the news.