Only Statewide Democrat Office-Holder in Ohio Recommends that His Friends Leave the Democratic Party

According to this story, Ohio State Supreme Court Justice Bill O’Neill has sharply criticized the Ohio Democratic Party for endorsing one particular candidate for the party’s 2016 U.S. Senate nomination. Ohio Supreme Court Justices are elected in partisan elections, and O’Neill is the only Democrat holding a statewide office in Ohio. O’Neill urged his Facebook friends to “leave the Democratic Party.”

Although Ohio elects State Supreme Court Justices on a partisan basis, the ballot does not show party labels for that office. Parties nominate State Supreme Court Justices in conventions.

Daily Newspaper in Bend, Oregon, Says State Should be Neutral in Choice of Party for Voter Registration

The Bulletin, daily newspaper for Bend, Oregon, has this editorial about HB 3500. Oregon has already switched to a system of automatic registration for individuals with a drivers license or a state ID card. HB 3500 provided that those new voters would automatically receive in the postal mail a primary ballot for the Republican, Democratic, and Independent Parties. That way, these new voters would easily choose to affiliate with one of those three parties, the only three parties in Oregon entitled to a primary (the other qualified parties nominate by convention).

The editorial says HB 3500 is not fair to the qualified parties that nominate by convention. The bill has been converted into a proposal to study this issue.

Arizona Governor Signs Bill Making Ballot Access Harder for Libertarian Party

Last month the Arizona legislature passed HB 2608, which makes it more difficult for a member of a small qualified party to get on the primary ballot. On April 14, the Governor of Arizona, Doug Ducey, signed the bill. It sharply increases the number of signatures for a candidate of a small qualified party to get on the primary ballot. However, it has no effect on parties that have ballot-qualified for less than four years, so it has no impact on the Green Party. See this story.

Among Fifty Most Populous Countries, U.S. and Nigeria are the Only Nations with Two Parties in Lower House of National Legislature

Among the fifty most populous nations in the world, the only two countries in which only two political parties are represented in the nation’s legislative lower house are the United States and Nigeria. If “two-party system” is defined to mean a nation with only two parties represented in the national legislature, then it is clear that the “two-party system” has been rejected by governments and voters all over the world.

Among the fifty most populous countries, only one country bans all political parties and holds no legislative elections whatsoever: Saudi Arabia. Only one of the fifty most populous countries has non-partisan elections for the national legislature: Iran. Although political parties, both legal and illegal, exist in Iran, the election system is non-partisan.

Two countries ban all political parties except the ruling party: China and Vietnam. The May 1 2015 printed Ballot Access News will have a chart showing the number of parties represented in each country’s lower legislative body, although the chart will only include the 50 most populous countries.