Bernie Sanders Says He Will Decide Whether to Run for President, and How to Run, by March 2015

Posted on by December 26, 2014
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This AP story says Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) will decide by March 2015 whether to run for President in 2016. It also says he will decide whether to run for the Democratic nomination, or as an independent.

Presumably Senator Sanders knows that if he runs as an independent he can’t receive primary season matching funds from the federal government, but he can receive them if he says he is seeking the nomination of any party, no matter how small. Also, Sanders probably knows that if he ran as an independent, he would face the challenge of getting on the ballot in all 50 states, whereas the Green Party is currently ballot-qualified in twenty states, including five of the nation’s seven most populous states. Thanks to PoliticalWire for the link.

BBC Article Describes the Green Party-Controlled City Government of Brighton, England

Posted on by December 26, 2014
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The BBC has this article about Brighton, England, which has a city council controlled by the Green Party. Brighton, on the south coast of England, has a population of 273,400, and is probably the largest jurisdiction in the English-speaking world where the Green Party is the dominant force in government.

The city council has 54 members, consisting of 21 Greens, 18 Conservative Party members, 14 Labour Party members, and one independent. Brighton also has the nation’s only Green Party member of the House of Commons, Caroline Lucas. Thanks to Thomas Jones for the link.

Most Successful Minor Party Candidate in a Gubernatorial Race in 2014 Spent $36 on His Campaign

Posted on by December 25, 2014
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The best percentage of the vote for any minor party gubernatorial candidate in 2014 was Bob Healey’s showing for Governor of Rhode Island, on the Moderate Party ticket. Healey claimed he only spent $36 on the entire campaign. PolitiFact investigated that claim and found it to be true. See this analysis here, published last month. Healey was included in the televised debates, and he attributes his high vote total to being in the debates.

Healey polled 21.43% of the vote. Because the vote exceeded 5%, the Moderate Party will be ballot-qualified in both 2016 and 2018.

Daily Oklahoman Again Editorializes in Favor of Easing Ballot Access

Posted on by December 24, 2014
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This December 17 Daily Oklahoman editorial again recommends that the Oklahoma legislature improve ballot access for newly-qualifying parties and independent presidential candidates. The editorial also recommends that the two major parties open their primaries to independent voters. The editorial disagrees with certain other election law reforms, such as ending run-off primaries.

Oklahoma has not permitted anyone to vote for President who was not a major party nominee, for each of the last three presidential elections. One must go all the way back to the period 1952-1964 to find any other state with a similar record. That other state was Ohio, which didn’t have anyone but Democrats and Republicans on the ballot for President for four elections in a row and which also banned write-ins. The U.S. Supreme Court invalidated Ohio’s ballot access laws in 1968 in Williams v Rhodes.

Zambia Presidential Election to be Contested by Eleven Political Parties

Posted on by December 24, 2014
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Zambia holds a presidential election on January 20, 2015. Eleven parties have qualified for the election, including the Green Party, which is campaigning to legalize marijuana, and also to try to export marijuana to countries that permit medicinal marijuana. See this story. If any reader knows what the Zambian ballot access laws are, please comment.

The Green Party is organized in eleven African nations. The 2015 Zambia presidential election appears to be the first such election at which the Green Party has participated. There was no Green Party candidate in the last Zambian presidential election, which was held in 2011. The 2011 election had candidates from ten parties.