U.S. Supreme Court Likely to Make Decision about Three Election Law Cases on Monday, September 29

Posted on by September 29, 2014
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The U.S. Supreme Court holds a conference on Monday, September 29. The Court will consider whether to hear Williams-Yulee v Florida Bar Association, 13-1499, over whether candidates for judge can be told they may not solicit campaign contributions for themselves.

Also the Court will consider whether to hear Arizona State Legislature v Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, 13-1314. The issue is whether Article One of the U.S. Constitution, which requires state legislatures to write laws about congressional elections, is violated by independent congressional redistricting commissions. The lower court had upheld the Arizona redistricting commission’s authority by 2-1.

Finally, the Court will consider whether to countermand last week’s order of the Sixth Circuit that Ohio must permit early voting during the first week of October and on the Sunday and Monday before election day.

It is not clear when the Court will reveal what it has done at conference. It could be this afternoon, or Tuesday morning.

Oregon Working Families Party Cross-Endorses Two Independent Party Nominees

Posted on by September 28, 2014
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The Oregon Working Families Party, like the Working Families Party in other states, generally nominates individuals who are also Democratic Party nominees. The Working Families Party only bothers to qualify as a party in states that allow fusion.

However, this year, the Oregon Working Families Party has nominated two member-nominees of the Independent Party. See this story. This is believed to be the first time the Working Families Party in any state has ever nominated a member of a party other than the Democratic, Republican, or Working Families Parties, for any federal or state office.

Former Alaska Republican Party Chair Joins Constitution Party

Posted on by September 28, 2014
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On September 27, the Alaska Constitution Party held a state convention. Russ Millette attended and filled out a new voter registration form, joining the Constitution Party and leaving the Republican Party.

Millette had been elected State Chair of the Alaska Republican Party in April 2012. He was a Ron Paul supporter. In January 2013, the state Republican Executive Committee removed him as chair.

Two Relatively Inactive Parties in South Carolina Take Steps to Remain Ballot-Qualified

Posted on by September 28, 2014
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South Carolina has one of the nation’s most lenient laws on how a party remains on the ballot. A party continues to remain on the ballot if it runs at least one candidate for any partisan office, every four years.

The Labor Party and the Independence Party each have one candidate in South Carolina this year. Neither party had any candidates in 2012, so they each needed to run someone this year to remain ballot-qualified.

The Labor Party is running Harold Geddings III for U.S. House, 2nd district. See here for information on his campaign. The Labor Party petitioned for ballot status in 2006, but did not run its first candidate until 2010, when it ran Brett Bursey for State House, 69th district. He got 3.06% in a race against both major parties. The South Carolina Labor Party is the only state unit of the Labor Party formed in 1996 that ever obtained a place on the ballot. The national Labor Party was founded by Tony Mazzocchi, a prominent labor leader. Unlike the Working Families Party, the Labor Party has never supported Democratic nominees.

The Independence Party is running Tony Boyce for State House, district 25. See here for more about his campaign. In 2012 he tried to be a Democratic nominee for State Legislature, but was kept off the primary ballot, along with dozens of other major party members, due to a very confusing campaign finance requirement. Boyce is in a two-person race against a Democrat. The Independence Party of South Carolina, along with the Independence Party of New York city, are the only remaining ballot-qualified parties in the U.S. still controlled by leaders of the old New Alliance Party of Lenora Fulani and Fred Newman. The Independence Party of South Carolina has intervened in the pending lawsuit over whether the Republican Party of Greenville County may have a closed primary for itself. The Independence Party intervened against the Republican Party and on the side of state law.