National Totals for Each Party for U.S. House, November 2014 Election

It appears that this is the number of votes received by each party for U.S. House in the November 4, 2014 election:

Republican 39,679,791
Democratic 35,450,701
Libertarian 965,396
Working Families 249,112
Green 246,567
Constitution 61,271
other parties 548,720
independent candidates 676,463

This is based on official election returns from each state. It does not include the District of Columbia vote for Delegate to U.S. House, nor the vote of any U.S. overseas possessions for Delegate.

North Dakota Politics Blog Posts Op-Ed Criticizing North Dakota’s Law that Keeps Minor Party Legislative Candidates Off the November Ballot

Rob Port’s blog that covers North Dakota politics has this op-ed by Richard Winger, on North Dakota’s ballot access law that has prevented any minor party candidates for the legislature from appearing on the November ballot (with the party label) for the last 38 years.

All Briefs Filed in Michigan Ballot Access Case

As of December 9, all briefs have been filed in the Sixth Circuit in Erard v Michigan Secretary of State, 14-1873. The Socialist Party challenges Michigan ballot access laws for new parties, arguing that the state discriminates against newly-qualifying parties, relative to old ones. For the 2016 election, for example, Michigan requires a newly-qualifying party to submit 31,565 signatures. But a party that was already on the ballot in November 2014 only needed to poll 16,491 votes for any statewide race to remain ballot-qualified.

This flaw in the Michigan election law has existed ever since 1988, when the legislature passed a bill that doubled the number of signatures needed for a newly-qualifying party, from 1% of the vote cast for the winner for Secretary of State, to 1% of the total gubernatorial vote. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Williams v Rhodes in 1968 that it is unconstitutional for a state to require more support for a newly-qualifying party than it does for an old party, but in the Erard case, the U.S. District Court still upheld the Michigan disparity.

Here is Erard’s reply brief, which is the last brief and which was filed December 9.