ABC News has this story about Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s attempts to win minor party nominations.  The story is incorrect when it says that the Alliance Party is ballot-qualified in Minnesota and that the Reform Party is on the ballot in Florida.

Also the story would have been better if it had explained that previous independent presidential candidates have followed the same strategy.  In 1924 Robert La Follette, an independent progressive presidential candidate, won the nomination of the Socialist Party and the Farmer-Labor Party, which helped him with ballot access.  He would not have been on in California without the Socialist Party nomination.

In 1968, George Wallace depended on the ballot-qualified Conservative Party to place him on the Kansas ballot.  In 1980, John Anderson used the Liberal Party to gain access in New York.  Ralph Nader in his 2004 and 2008 independent runs, depended on many one-state qualified parties.  Lenora Fulani, in her two runs in 1988 and 1992, did as well.  Even Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 was the nominee of the Republican Parties of California and South Dakota.  The only person who was on the ballot in all states, in the last 100 years, who didn’t depend on a nomination by a previously qualified party, was Ross Perot in 1992.

On April 26, the West Virginia Secretary of State issued a new voter registration tally.  See the figures here.

Percentages are:  Republican 40.42%; Democratic 30.31%; Libertarian .91%; Green .22%; independent and other 28.14%.

On October 2023, the percentages were:  Republican 39.86%; Democratic 31.49%; Libertarian .91%; Green .21%; independent and other 27.53%.

On March 29, U.S. District Court Judge James O. Browning, a Bush Jr. appointee, ruled that the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 requires New Mexico to release the list of registered voters.  Voter Reference Foundation v Torrez, 1:22cv-0222.  The decision is 329 pages.  See this story.