New York Releases Official Vote from Special U.S. House Election of May 24, 2011

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New York State held a special U.S. House election on May 24, 2011, to fill the vacant 26th district seat. The official results by party: Democratic 42.77%; Republican 32.15%; Tea Party 9.03%; Conservative 8.18%; Working Families 4.67%; Independence 2.14%; Green 1.06%.

In November 2010, the results in this same seat had been: Republican 58.99%; Democratic 26.39%; Conservative 9.41%; Independence 5.21%.

In the May 2011 election, the Conservative and Independence Parties had cross-endorsed the Republican nominee; the Working Families Party had cross-endorsed the Democratic nominee; and the Tea Party and the Green Party had each run their own nominee. The Tea Party nominee was Jack Davis and the Green Party nominee was Ian L. Murphy. The winning Democrat was Kathy Hochul and the Republican nominee was Jane Corwin.

Maine Bill, Easing Organizational Requirements for Parties, is Signed Into Law

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On June 6, Maine Governor Paul LePage signed LD 142 into law. This is the bill that eases the requirement that qualified parties must hold a town caucus in at least one town, in every county of the state, in the spring of even-numbered years. The law now says such meetings are required in any 14 of the state’s 16 counties. The Green Party had requested this relief.

Delaware Bill Signed, Forbidding Parties from Nominating Non-Members

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On May 31, Delaware Governor Jack Markell signed HB 11, which tells political parties that they are not permitted to nominate anyone who is not a member of the party. Delaware is the second state this year to pass such a law; Florida is the other such state. State legislators in both states ignored the U.S. Supreme Court’s statement in Tashjian v Republican Party of Connecticut that states may not forbid parties from nominating non-members.

South Dakota Rules that Out-of-State Circulators May Work on Ballot Access Petition to Qualify a Party

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On June 13, South Dakota Elections Director Aaron Lorenzen confirmed that out-of-state circulators may work in South Dakota, if they are working on the petition to recognize a new, or previously unqualified, party. The previous South Dakota Elections Director had come to the same conclusion.

South Dakota laws forbid out-of-state circulators for initiatives, for independent candidates, and for petitions to place a candidate on the primary ballot of a party. These bans on out-of-state circulators for most kinds of petition were passed in 2007. Probably if the legislature had thought to outlaw out-of-state circulators for petitions to recognize a new party, they would have done that also.

Mr. Lorenzen is to be thanked for making a determination. The Constitution Party asked California’s Secretary of State, Debra Bowen, in April 2011, whether out-of-state circulators are permitted for independent presidential candidate petitions. She still has not responded to the inquiry.

Americans Elect Reveals its Ballot Logo

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About a dozen states still print party logos on general election ballot. These date from the 19th century and were intended to help voters who cannot read. They are cartoon-like pictures at the top of each party’s party column on the ballot.

Americans Elect has submitted its ballot logo to the Michigan Secretary of State, because Michigan is a state that prints logos on ballots. The Americans Elect logo is simply the name of the party, with “Elect” in bigger letters than “Americans”. Most parties use pictoral symbols. For example, the other ballot-qualified parties in Michigan use these pictures: Democrats have a drawing of Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy; Republicans show Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan; the Green Party uses a sunflower; the Libertarian Party has the upper portion of the Statute of Liberty; the Constitution Party has the head of an eagle; the Natural Law Party has a photograph of the earth’s image from space.

An illustration of Americans Elect’s logo will be in the print edition of the July 1, 2011 Ballot Access News.

Ralph Nader Files Reply Brief in Maine Supreme Court, in Case Against Democratic Party Behavior in 2004

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On June 10, Ralph Nader filed a 15-page reply brief in Nader v Maine Democratic Party, Democratic National Committee, et al, in the Maine Supreme Court. The case was filed by Nader as a tort, in response to actions of the Democratic Party in 2004 to sabotage Nader’s ballot access efforts. Although most of this reply brief is concerned with whether a trial ought to be held in the case, page 7 has a concise list of the worst things that the Democrats did to Nader.

Nader’s similar lawsuits in other jurisdictions were barred by the statute of limitations, but Maine has a 6-year statute of limitations, so if this case is ever heard on the merits, it will be in Maine state court.