On August 18, U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Piersol granted an injunction, letting independent gubernatorial candidate Michael Myers replace the Lieutenant Governor running mate on the November 2014 ballot. Piersol is a Clinton appointee. This is the first time a federal court in South Dakota has ruled favorably in a ballot access case since 2000. The case is Myers v Gant, 4:14cv-4121.

Myers argued successfully that because South Dakota lets qualified parties replace a nominee who has withdrawn, therefore the Constitution requires that independent candidate tickets must have the same flexibility. The original Lieutenant Governor named on Myers’ ballot access petition had withdrawn and Myers had sued to get the replacement’s name on the ballot.

In 1980, John B. Anderson had not chosen his actual vice-presidential running mate until August 27, after he had finished petitioning in South Dakota and almost all states. South Dakota in 1980 was one of only four states that wouldn’t let Anderson replace the stand-in vice-presidential running mate with the actual vice-presidential candidate, former Governor Patrick Lucey of Wisconsin. Anderson had sued three of the states that wouldn’t let him replace the Vice-President and had won all three lawsuits. But he didn’t get around to suing South Dakota, so this is the first time substitution rights for independents have been recognized in South Dakota.

On August 11, the federal government filed this brief in Tuaua v U.S.A., in the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. The issue is whether the Constitution requires that persons born in U.S. possessions be considered citizens. Persons born in American Samoa are considered U.S. nationals, not citizens. The government interprets the Fourteenth Amendment to mean that only individuals born in a state are constitutionally entitled to be considered U.S. citizens.

The Fourteenth Amendment says, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” The plaintiffs argue that persons born in American Samoa are citizens. The federal government disagrees. By statute, Congress has said that persons born in all U.S. possessions except American Samoa are citizens, but Congress has never taken that step for American Samoa.

Under the federal government’s theory, even persons born in the District of Columbia aren’t constitutionally required to be recognized as citizens.

The plaintiffs’ reply brief is due September 8.

Here is a list of Iowa candidates for federal and state office. The Libertarian Party and the New Independent Party of Iowa have candidates on the ballot for most of the statewide offices, and the Libertarian Party also has six legislative candidates. The Green Party has one legislative candidate.

The New Independent Party of Iowa is a new party, with a platform somewhat similar to the Reform Party’s platform. Here is the New Independent Party of Iowa’s web page. Thanks to Nathan Hetzel for the links.

Iowa has no ballot-qualified parties, other than the Democratic and Republican Parties. A group only attains qualified status after it has polled 2% for President or Governor. The Green Party had qualified party status 2000-2002, and the Reform Party had it 1996-1998. Otherwise Iowa hasn’t had any ballot-qualified parties, other than the Democrats and Republicans, during the last 40 years.

UPDATE: see this commentary by John Deeth, on the New Independent Party of Iowa.