Chicago Filing Closes

Posted on by November 25, 2014
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Here is a list of candidates who filed to run for office in Chicago’s non-partisan February 2015 election. There are three citywide offices: Mayor, City Clerk, and Treasurer. For City Clerk, only two candidates filed; for Treasurer, only one candidate. Candidates for each citywide office needed 12,500.

All petitions in Illinois are deemed valid, unless anyone challenges. Even a petition that obviously doesn’t have enough signatures is acceptable if there is no challenge. The list of candidates posted above will almost certainly shrink after challenges are filed and adjudicated.

Utah Republican Party Will Sue to Eliminate Petition Bypass for Primary Ballot Access

Posted on by November 25, 2014
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In 2014, the Utah legislature passed a bill providing that a candidate can get on a primary ballot even if he or she does not have much support at a party caucus. Prior the the 2014 bill’s passage, Utah was the only state in which it was impossible for anyone to get on a partisan primary ballot for any office unless the candidate showed prior support at a party caucus.

The Utah Republican Party doesn’t like the 2014 bill, and will soon file a lawsuit to overturn it, according to this story.

The U.S. Supreme Court decision New York State Board of Elections v Lopez Torres, issued in 2008, makes it likely that the proposed lawsuit will win. That decision, which was unanimous, affirmed that political parties have a First Amendment right to stop direct nomination of candidates in their own primaries, if that is what they want. The 2008 decision upheld a New York law that says political parties nominate candidates for Supreme Court Justice in party conventions. The lower courts had said there must be a method for candidates to get on a primary directly, but the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the lower courts.

Zoltan Istvan is Working to Create the Transhumanist Party

Posted on by November 25, 2014
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Zoltan Istvan said last month that he intends to form the Transhumanist Party, and to be its presidential candidate. In California, groups that wish to qualify for the ballot must notify the Secretary of State. Upon receiving the notification, the Secretary of State asks county election officials to keep a tally of how many voters register into the group. The group becomes qualified if at least one-third of 1% of the registered voters have joined. So far, the Transhumanist Party has not registered, even though Istvan lives in California.

See this interview with Istvan. Also, see this wikipedia page about Istvan. Thanks to IndependentPoliticalReport for this news.

Some California Political Analysts Believe Order of Candidates on Ballot Determined Winner in One Legislative Race

Posted on by November 24, 2014
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See this newspaper story about the California legislative race in the 39th Assembly district in the San Fernando Valley portion of Los Angeles County. The incumbent Democratic Assemblyman, Raul Bocanegra, who enjoyed a 39 point lead in the June primary over his opponent Patty Lopez, lost to her in November.

California rotates names of candidates within each Assembly district. For a statewide race, that gives every candidate the top spot on the ballot in some parts of the state, and all candidates are treated equally. But for a solitary Assembly race, one candidate will enjoy the top spot throughout the district. The article explains why it appears that Bocanegra would not have lost if he had been in the top spot on the ballot. Thanks to AroundtheCapitol for the link.

UPDATE: see this story, which has evidence of ballot order affecting other same-party California races as well. Thanks to Rick Hasen for that link.