Constitution Party Outpolls Republican Party in Partisan New Mexico County Sheriff Election

Posted on by November 28, 2014
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On November 4, the only minor party candidate in the state of New Mexico for any partisan office was Michael E. Lunnon, the Constitution Party nominee for Sheriff of McKinley County. Here is a link to the unofficial election returns from the Secretary of State’s web page. The results are: Democrat Ronald R. Silversmith 9,682; Constitution Party nominee Lunnon 2,163; Republican Clayton E. Garcia 2,146.

Lunnon was probably helped by the fact that New Mexico no longer has a straight-ticket device on the ballot.

McKinley County is in northwest New Mexico. The county seat is Gallup. The county is a stronghold for the Democratic Party.

New Mexico had fewer minor party nominees on the ballot in this month’s election than any other state. Also, during the entire period 2001-2014, New Mexico and North Dakota were tied for having the fewest independent and minor party candidates on the ballot. The November 1, 2014 printed Ballot Access News has a chart which shows this data for each state.

The Libertarian and Independent American Parties were and are on the ballot in New Mexico, but neither of them ran any nominees in 2014. This is mostly because New Mexico forces ballot-qualified minor parties to submit a petition of 1% of the last vote cast for all its nominees. New Mexico is the only state that requires the nominees of any qualified party to submit a petition to appear on the November ballot. The policy lacks logic.

Member of Canadian Parliament Makes the Case for Proportional Representation for Canada

Posted on by November 27, 2014
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Murray Rankin, the member of Parliament for Victoria, British Columbia, has this op-ed in the Times Colonist, the daily newspaper for Victoria. Rankin argues in favor of proportional representation for Canada. The comments underneath the article are interesting. Many commenters don’t realize that there are systems of proportional representation that do allow voters to choose the particular individual who represents them.

Rankin is a member of the New Democratic Party, which officially supports proportional representation.

November 2014 Ballot Access News Print Edition

Posted on by November 27, 2014
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Ballot Access News
November 1, 2014 – Volume 30, Number 6

This issue was printed on green paper.

Table of Contents

  1. MINOR PARTY AND INDEPENDENT VOTE FOR TOP OFFICE LIKELY TO BE HIGHEST MID-TERM RESULT SINCE 1930
  2. KANSAS AND NEBRASKA MAJOR PARTIES WIN PARTY RIGHTS CASES
  3. MASSACHUSETTS COURT EXPANDS PETITIONING SITES
  4. 2014 DEBATES
  5. LAWSUIT NEWS
  6. WHICH MINOR PARTIES EVER POLLED OVER 900,000 MID-TERM VOTES?
  7. INDEPENDENT & MINOR PARTY CANDIDATES ON BALLOT 2001-2014
  8. INDEPENDENT WINS IN ST. LOUIS
  9. SCHOLAR LISTS ALL INDEPENDENT SENATORS IN U.S. HISTORY
  10. SUBSCRIBING TO BAN WITH PAYPAL

Federal Court to Hear Congressman Ron Barber’s Lawsuit that Says Some Voters Were Illegally Not Counted

Posted on by November 26, 2014
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The unofficial election returns for U.S. House, Arizona 2nd district, are: Republican Martha McSally 109,704; Democratic incumbent Ron Barber 109,543. This is so close, there will be a recount. But Congressman Barber, along with some voters, have filed a federal lawsuit which argues that some legal votes were not counted. Barber v Bennett, 4:14cv-2489. It is being heard on Wedneday, November 26, by U.S. District Court Judge Cindy Jorgenson, a Bush Jr., appointee.

Some of the plaintiffs had their provisional ballots rejected because election officials felt their signatures on the provisional ballot outer envelope don’t look like their signatures on the voter registration records. When the voters attempted to submit evidence that they are the same person, they were rebuffed. The lawsuit identifies 133 voters whose votes were not counted, but should have been, in the opinion of the plaintiffs. Although the margin between the two candidates in the unofficial tally is 161 votes, since there will be a recount, each vote might matter.

There were no minor party or independent candidates on the ballot in this race. The district includes eastern Pima County and Cochise County. See this story.

Ohio Libertarians File Reply Brief in Ballot Access Case

Posted on by November 26, 2014
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On November 21, the Ohio Libertarian Party filed this reply brief in Libertarian Party of Ohio v Husted, s.d., 2:13cv-953. The issue in the lawsuit at this point is whether SB 193, passed in late 2013, which rewrote the definition of “political party”, is constitutional.

One of the Libertarian Party’s contentions is that the 2013 law violates the Ohio Constitution, which seems to say that all parties must nominate by primary. The federal court can only involve itself in this issue if the federal court rules that the state waived its Eleventh Amendment immunity. That is why so much of this brief concerns the Eleventh Amendment. Thanks to Steve Linnabary for the link.