On the evening of May 14, the North Carolina House passed HB 794 by a vote of 109-5. The bill requires the legislature to appoint a committee composed of state legislators who will study ballot access after the 2013 sitting is over. The committee will take public testimony and prepare a report, and the 2014 half of this current session will then address the issue. UPDATE: here is a news story that mentions this outcome.
The United Independent Party, which exists only in Massachusetts, is attempting to qualify for party status. See here for the party’s web page, which asks readers to change their voter registration to join the party. If it can persuade 1% of the registered voters to join the party, it will be a qualified party.
The group is running Evan Falchuk for Governor in 2014. He is vice-president of Best Doctors, Inc., a company that helps companies deal with health insurance and also helps individuals to obtain second opinions for health problem diagnoses. If the party is unable to qualify by registration, Falchuk can get on the November 2014 with the party label by submitting 10,000 valid signatures next year.
Ever since 1991, it has been theoretically possible for a group to attain party status by persuading 1% of the voters to register into the party, but no group has ever successfully used this method.
On May 13, the North Carolina Green Party, and the North Carolina Constitution Party, filed this opening brief in the 4th circuit. The case challenges the mid-May petition deadline for newly-qualifying parties. The case is Pisano v Bartlett, 13-1368.
On May 13, two members of the U.S. House introduced a proposed constitutional amendment guaranteeing all adult citizens the right to vote. The sponsors are Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota) and Mark Pocan (D-Wisconsin). The bill number hasn’t been assigned yet.
The proposed amendment reads, “Section 1. Every citizen of the United States, who is of legal voting age, shall have the fundamental right to vote in any public election held in the jurisdiction in which the citizen resides. Section 2. Congress shall have the power to enforce and implement this article by appropriate legislation.”
If this were enacted, ex-felons and felons in all states were gain the franchise. It is not clear whether the amendment, if enacted, could be used to strike down restrictive ballot access laws for candidates. The U.S. Supreme Court has said in the past, “The right to vote includes the right of choice for whom to vote.” Certainly a voter in Oklahoma, a state that has prevented its voters from voting for anyone for President other than the Democratic and Republican nominees in each of the last three presidential general elections, would have a strong case against the Oklahoma ballot access laws. Thanks to Rick Hasen for news about the proposed amendment.
As of May 6, 2013, Idaho reports these voter registration figures: Republican 239,002; Democratic 55,254; independent or miscellaneous 439,715; Libertarian 3,156; Constitution 1,500.
Voter registration by party is new in Idaho. It only started in 2012. The tally last year showed far fewer members of parties, since the procedure was new and party totals essentially started from zero. The 2012 figures, for example, only showed 362 Libertarians and 225 Constitution Party members.
