John Hrabe of Cal Newsroom has this comprehensive story about some of the lesser-known effects of California’s top-two system on minor parties.
According to this story, New York has eleven vacant legislative seats, but there are no plans to call any special elections, so presumably this situation will last for the remainder of 2014.
In 2013, the Socialist Party filed a lawsuit against New Jersey state election officials, seeking to gain the ability of voters to register as members of the Socialist Party. The state has again asked for a extension for the settlement conference. This is the second time the state has asked for more time. Originally it was to have been settled on November 14, 2013. The new meeting is in mid-March 2014.
On February 13, the Arizona House passed HB 2196. It repeals the omnibus election law of 2013, which included severe restrictions on how minor party members get on their own party’s primary ballot.
On February 13, the Alabama Constitution, Green, and Libertarian Parties filed their opening brief in Stein v Bennett in the Eleventh Circuit. This is the case over Alabama’s March petition deadline for newly-qualifying parties in presidential years. The U.S. District Court had upheld that deadline, on the grounds that the three parties’ presidential candidates in 2012 used the independent petition procedure. That procedure requires only 5,000 signatures, and is not due until September, but does not permit the party label. The U.S. District Court said that minor parties are not severely burdened when their candidates are not allowed to have their party label on the ballot.
