Illinois Petition Challenge Starts Monday, July 14, for Libertarian and Constitution Parties

Posted on by July 13, 2014
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This year, all three statewide minor party petitions were challenged in Illinois. The “record check” to examine each challenged signature starts on Monday, July 14, for the Libertarian petition and the Constitution petition. The process involves a representative of the challenger, and a representative of the petitioning group, sitting down together with an employee of the State Board of Elections, over a computer. The trio focuses on one signature at a time. For a statewide minor party petition, which can involve looking at 20,000 to 30,000 signatures, the process generally takes at least a week. Petitioning groups are told to have twelve workers on the scene.

This year, the process starts in the Springfield office of the Board for the Libertarians; and the Chicago office for the Constitution Party. Because the Board only has those two offices, the Green Party process can’t start this week, but will only commence when one of the others is finished.

Michael Peroutka, 2004 Constitution Party Presidential Nominee, Donates Valuable Allosaurus Skeleton to Creation Museum

Posted on by July 13, 2014
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This article in the Capital Gazette of Annapolis, Maryland, says that 2004 Constitution Party presidential nominee Michael Peroutka recently donated a 30 foot long Allosaurus skeleton to the Creation Museum. The skeleton is valued anywhere from $200,000 to $1,000,000. The article explains how Peroutka came to own the skeleton.

Peroutka polled 143,630 votes for President in 2004. That was the party’s third best presidential vote total; the only ones that were higher were 1996 and 2008.

Former U.S. Senator Alan Dixon, Champion of Regional Presidential Primaries, Dies

Posted on by July 12, 2014
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On July 6, former U.S. Senator Alan Dixon (D-Illinois) died at 86. See this obituary. Senator Dixon was the most persistent advocate of federal legislation setting up regional presidential primaries. He introduced such bills in 1987 (S.1786), 1989 (S.377), and 1991 (S.288). The bills would have divided up the United States into presidential primary regions. Each state within a region would hold presidential primaries on the same date, between March and June. The dates for each region would alternate and be set in the year before a presidential election year.

Senator Dixon was defeated in the Democratic primary for re-nomination in 1992, and since then no member of Congress has energetically worked for the idea, although variants of bill have been introduced since then, most recently in 2007.

Unlike some plans, Senator Dixon’s bills did not give favored exemptions for any particular state, including New Hampshire.

Kansas State Court Says Secretary of State Has Authority to Create Dual List of Registered Voters

Posted on by July 12, 2014
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On July 11, a Kansas state court ruled that the Secretary of State did not exceed his authority when he determined that voters who registered using the federal voter registration form can only vote on federal office, not state or county office. See this story. The Kansas Secretary of State does not like the federal voter registration form because, unlike the Kansas voter registration form, it allows people to sign under penalty of perjury that they are citizens, whereas the Kansas state form requires documentary proof of citizenship.

The Tenth Circuit is currently hearing a case over whether Kansas can force the federal government to amend the federal form when it is used in Kansas. Assuming Kansas loses the federal case, the Secretary of State is determined to implement a system in which voters who used the federal form cannot vote in state and local elections.