On January 22, the Virginia House Subcommittee on Elections will hold a hearing on HB 1463, which eases the vote test for a group to be a qualified party, from a vote of 10%, to a vote of 4%, for any statewide race. The hearing is at 7:30 a.m. Thanks to Bill Redpath for this news.
The Washington Post has this summary of when presidential primaries will be held in each state in 2016. The article reveals how much uncertainty still remains for many states.
These states will hold a presidential primary for the Libertarian Party: Arizona; California; Delaware if any Libertarians can get on the party’s presidential primary ballot, which is very difficult; Idaho if at least two Libertarians file; Missouri; Montana if at least two Libertarians file; Nebraska; North Carolina; Oklahoma if the party gets on the ballot; South Dakota if the party gets on the ballot.
These jurisdictions will hold a presidential primary for the Green Party: Arizona; California; Delaware with the same note as for the Libertarians; District of Columbia; Massachusetts; New York; Ohio.
On January 15, the Republican Party county organizations that are suing Montana over the open primary asked the Ninth Circuit to grant injunctive relief, as to whether the party can block non-members from voting for party officers. The U.S. District Court had refused to grant such injunctive relief, saying there is no evidence in the case so far that non-members ever vote in Republican primaries for party office. The party committees argue that the case law is already clear that parties can always block non-members from voting for party officers. Therefore, the party says, there is no need for evidence on that point. In the Ninth Circuit, the case is Ravalli County Republican Central Committee v McCulloch, 15-35044.
The Maine Secretary of State has released a new registration tally, which can be seen at this link. Scroll down to the bottom to get the state totals. The Green Independent Party, for the first time, has surpassed 4% of the state total.
The only other parties in any state, other than the Democratic and Republican Parties, that have as much as 4% of their own state’s registration are the Independent American Party of Nevada (affiliated with the Constitution Party), the New York Independence Party, and the Oregon Independent Party. Thanks to Thomas MacMillan for the link.
The Washington Post has this article about research by Political Scientist Andrew Hall. The article says Hall’s research shows that small donors tend to prefer “extreme” candidates, whereas large donors prefer “moderate” candidates. Public financing amplifies the power of small donors, so the research then goes on to say that public funding contributes toward polarization. Thanks to the Center for Competitive Politics for the link.
