This newspaper describes the Canadian four-party debate of August 6. The consensus seems to be that the leaders of all four parties did well. Also see this story.
UPDATE: here is a Huffington Post article about the debate. The emphasis of this article is not on the fact that Canada let four party leaders into the debate, but on the substance of what was said, as it relates to how Canada and the United States work together on joint energy and military policies.
On August 7, the Arizona Secretary of State compiled the July 1, 2015 registration tally. Arizona does this every three months. The new percentages are: Republican 34.04; Democratic 28.35; Libertarian .83; Green .145; Americans Elect .015; independents and unqualified parties 36.63%.
The April 1 2015 percentages were: Republican 34.21; Democratic 28.53; Libertarian .82; Green .147; Americans Elect .014; independents and unqualified parties 36.27.
Americans Elect will be removed from the ballot in a few months for failing to have .67%. The Greens are also below that standard but they won’t be removed because they petitioned for 2016 and parties that submit a petition get two elections. Therefore the Greens are also on for 2018.
Ohio has had a sore loser law since before 1958. It says, “3513.04: No person who seeks party nomination for an office or position at a primary election by declaration of candidacy shall be permitted to become a candidate at the following general election for any office by nominating petition, including a nomination petition filed under 3517.012.”
On August 7, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted told the press that this means Donald Trump cannot possibly get on the November 2016 ballot as a presidential candidate (unless he is the Republican nominee) because at the August 6 debate he “declared his candidacy” for the Republican nomination. Husted is interpreting the term “declaration of candidacy” to mean a candidate’s spoken words in any conversational setting, rather than a reference to an Ohio election form.
Ohio election code 3513.04 says, “Candidates for party nominations…shall have their names printed on the official primary ballot by filing a declaration of candidacy.” The words “declaration of candidacy” appear in many places in the Ohio election law, and it seems clear that when the sore loser talks about a “declaration of candidacy”, it means that piece of paper; it doesn’t mean something said orally by the candidate. The term “declaration of candidacy” has appeared in the Ohio election law for more than a century.
If Secretary of State Husted’s interpretation of “declaration of candidacy” is accurate, then Lyndon LaRouche could never have been on the Ohio ballot as an independent in 1984, because in 1983 he had declared his intent to run in Democratic presidential primaries in 1984. LaRouche even ran in the Ohio Democratic presidential primary and as an independent in Ohio in November 1984.
If Husted is correct about the meaning of “declaration of candidacy”, then Gary Johnson could not have been on the Ohio general election ballot in November 2012, because he had declared his intent to seek the Republican nomination on April 21, 2011. If Husted is correct, then John Anderson could not have been on the Ohio ballot in Novembeer 1980, because he had declared himself a candidate for the Republican nomination on June 8, 1979. If Husted is correct, then Pat Buchanan could not have appeared on the November 2000 ballot as the Reform Party nominee, because he had declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination on March 2, 1999. If Husted is correct, then Lenora Fulani could not have been on the Ohio November 1992 ballot, because she had declared her intent to seek the Democratic nomination on December 17, 1991.
Trump is free to decline to file for the 2016 Ohio Republican primary if he wishes. Ohio is not one of the states that puts presidential candidates on a presidential primary ballot automatically if they are discussed in the news media. No one gets on an Ohio presidential primary ballot without filing a form, certifying that he or she has raised at least $5,000 in small donations in each of 20 states. See 3513.121 of the Ohio law.
The Socialist Party will hold a national convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, October 16-18, 2015. The party’s national web page has a form, asking individuals who wish to seek the party’s presidential nomination to apply on-line.
The Socialist Party is recognized by the Federal Election Commission as a national committee. However, it is not currently ballot-qualified in any state.
The Republican presidential debate on the evening of August 6 had ten candidates. It lasted two hours. The debate succeeded in giving the audience a strong mental impression of each of the ten candidates. This comment is not meant to suggest that the Fox News questioners necessarily did a good job of picking questions. It is unfortunate that there was zero mention of environmental problems. Nevertheless, the event shows that multi-candidate debates can be very successful.
