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Liberal Party of New York Hopes to Place Billionaire John Catsimatidis on Ballot for Mayor of New York City

Posted on May 8, 2013 by adminMay 8, 2013

The Liberal Party of New York was ballot-qualified 1946 through 2002. It went off the ballot in November 2002 because its gubernatorial nominee, Andrew Cuomo, only polled 15,761 votes in November, and New York state law requires at least 50,000 votes for a party to retain its place on the ballot.

Even though the Liberal Party has not been ballot-qualified for over ten years, it still exists, and it plans to petition to place John Catsimatidis on the November ballot for Mayor of New York city. Catsimatidis is also running in the Republican primary for Mayor. See this story. Thanks to Richard Grayson for the link.

Nebraska Governor Signs Bill, Repealing Primary Screen-out for Independent Presidential Petitions

Posted on May 8, 2013 by adminMay 8, 2013

On May 7, Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman signed LB 349, which, among other things, repeals the primary screen-out for independent presidential petitions. Now, Texas is the only state that bars primary voters from signing a ballot access petition. In Texas, primary voters can’t sign for an independent candidate for any office, nor can they sign for a newly-qualifying party.

At one time eleven states had primary screen-outs, but one by one they have all been repealed, except in Texas. Such laws once existed in Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Nebraska, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and West Virginia.

Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Can’t Simultaneously Run for President and for Re-Election to Senate in 2016

Posted on May 8, 2013 by adminMay 8, 2013

This Politico story analyzes election law in Kentucky and Florida and concludes that neither Rand Paul nor Marco Rubio can simultaneously run for the Republican presidential nomination, and for re-election to the U.S. Senate, in 2016. Thanks to Gene Berkman for the link.

Republican Party Files Opening Brief in U.S. Supreme Court in Case Against Aggregate Campaign Spending Limits

Posted on May 8, 2013 by adminMay 8, 2013

On May 6, the Republican National Committee, a co-plaintiff in McCutcheon v Federal Election Commission, 12-536, filed its opening brief. The argument itself is 60 pages long. It says that while there is a good reason for base contribution limits, there is no important government interest in controlling aggregate limits. “Base contribution limit” means a contribution to a particular candidate, or a particular group. “Aggregate contribution limit” means the federal law that controls how much money an individual may give to all candidates and/or all groups. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link. It may take your computer 15 seconds or so to load the brief.

South Carolina Election Results

Posted on May 7, 2013 by adminMay 7, 2013

The South Carolina Election Commission has semi-official election returns on its web page. The percentages for each party are: Republican 54.04%; Democratic 41.86%; Working Families Party 3.35%; Green .48%. UPDATE: here is a picture of the ballot, courtesy of The Independent View.

The Working Families Party and the Democratic Party each had the same candidate, Elizabeth Colbert Busch. This is the best showing the Working Families Party has ever made in the district. In 2010 it received 1.78% in the First District, and in 2012 it received 1.86%. As in this 2013 special election, the Working Families Party also cross-endorsed the Democrat in 2010 and 2012. Thanks to Michael for the link.