Ballot Access News
December 1, 2015 – Volume 31, Number 7

1. INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING INITIATIVE QUALIFIES IN MAINE
2. MINOR PARTIES FILING THREE NEW LAWSUITS
3. CPD STICKS TO 15% RULE JUST AS EVIDENCE AGAINST IT PILES UP
4. FOUR REPUBLICANS GET FREE TV TIME
5. UTAH REPUBLICAN AND CONSTITUTION PARTIES WIN PRIMARY LAWSUIT
6. INITIATIVES FOR NON-PARTISAN ELECTIONS FOR CONGRESS IN TWO STATES
7. KENTUCKY LIBERALIZES VOTING RIGHTS FOR EX-FELONS
8. SLOW JUDGES
9. TOP-TWO NEWS
10. NINTH CIRCUIT STRIKES DOWN TUCSON’S CITY COUNCIL ELECTIONS
11. PETITION RULES FOR INDEPENDENT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
12. PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY CANDIDATES ALREADY ON BALLOT
13. SOCIALIST ALTERNATIVE RE-ELECTS ITS SEATTLE CITY COUNCILMEMBER
14. MINOR PARTIES WIN 14 PARTISAN ELECTIONS ON NOVEMBER 3, 2015
15. RALPH NADER GETS SOME RELIEF FROM PENNSYLVANIA COURT COSTS
16. SEVERAL PARTIES NOMINATE FOR NATIONAL OFFICE LAST MONTH
17. SUBSCRIBING TO BAN WITH PAYPAL
    

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On December 28, Rocky De La Fuente submitted approximately 18,000 signatures, hoping to get on the Democratic presidential primary ballot in North Carolina. The law says candidates discussed in the news media are put on the ballot automatically. The North Carolina Board of Elections refused to put him on the ballot under that provision, so he used the alternate method of obtaining 10,000 valid signatures. It is believed he is the first presidential primary candidate in North Carolina history to attempt this method.

The signatures were all gathered in eleven days. So far, according to the North Carolina Board of Elections web page, 8,384 signatures have been checked, and only 4,423 of them were valid, for a validity rate of 52.8%. If that trend continues, he will fall short by approximately 500 signatures. In that case, he may be able to show that the county election boards did a poor job of checking the signatures.

On December 27, John McAfee became a dues-paying member of the Libertarian Party. He lives in Alabama. He had said last week that he will seek the party’s presidential nomination.