On February 13, the U.S. Senate voted 52-48 to confirm Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as the Secretary of Health and Human Services. As far as is known, this is the first time in history when an independent or minor party presidential candidate became a member of a President’s Cabinet, after having run for president outside the two major parties.
The lawsuit over the election for North Carolina State Supreme Court may bypass the State Court of Appeals. This story explains the entire case and contains that news.
On February 11, the Washington State Senate Committee on State Government, Tribal Affairs and Elections amended SB 5225 and passed it. The original bill added a provision for mandatory petitions for candidates to get on a primary ballot. But the Committee deleted that provision and passed it. Now it only deals with cases when two candidates with the same name are on the ballot for the same office. Thanks to Darryl Perry for this news.
The Massachusetts Secretary of State has released registration data for February 1, 2025.
The number of registered members of various minor parties (none of whom are ballot-qualified) are: Libertarian 15,672; United Independents 12,788; Green 3,545; Socialist 1,770; Working Families 753; Pirate 721; Constitution 289; Workers 219; Natural Law 52; Forward 35; Prohibition 22.
TWo years ago, the same parties had these figures: Libertarian 16,548; United Independent 14,469; Green 3,599;Socialist 1,615; Working Families 722; Constitution 292; Workers 183; Natural Law 54; Prohibition 19. The figures for February 2024 for the Pirate Party and the Forward Party are unknown.
In a post last year, I reported that Illinois House Bill 4488 (HB4488) moved the general election petition deadline from late June to late May AND shortened to petition period from 90 days to 60 days. The deadline change to late May was correct, but the petition period shortening was incorrect. It remained at 90 days, so the petition period will start in late February, not late March.
However, this is still a significant blow to the ballot access prospects of independent and minor party candidates in Illinois. The first four weeks of the petitioning period will now literally be during the winter season. And, I can personally attest to how winterlike early Spring can be in Illinois.
Possibly more importantly, most farmers markets and festivals, which are frequently good petitioning locations, don’t open until June in Illinois, largely eliminating that source of signatures for potential candidates.
It is possible litigation will be forthcoming from parties harmed by this legislation.
