Number of North Dakota Voters Choosing Libertarian Primary Ballot Triples Compared to Last Mid-Term Primary

Posted on by June 23, 2014
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All ballot-qualified parties in North Dakota nominate by primary. The primary is open. On primary day, all voters are free to choose any party’s primary ballot. The only ballot-qualified parties in North Dakota in 2010, and also in 2014, were the Republican, Democratic, and Libertarian Parties.

Although it is not possible to know the exact number of voters who choose any party’s primary, it is possible to know this approximately, by looking at the primary election returns. In the June 2010 primary, the largest vote total received by any Republican candidate was 65,205 votes; the largest vote total for any Democrat was 28,404 votes; the largest for any Libertarian was 548 votes.

By contrast, in June 2014, the largest vote total for any Republican was 50,446; for any Democrat, 30,154; for any Libertarian, 1,555. Thus while Republican primary voters dropped 22.6%, and Democratic primary turnout stayed approximately the same, Libertarian primary participation tripled.

Parties remain qualified by polling 5% in November for certain statewide offices. The only third parties that have met the North Dakota vote test to remain ballot-qualified in the last 100 years were the Reform Party in 1996, and the Socialist Party in 1914. The Libertarian Party is optimistic that, for the first time, it will meet the 5% vote test this November. This year, the only office that counts, for which the party has a nominee, is the Secretary of State’s race. Attorney General also counts, but no Libertarian is running for that office.

Independent Party of Oregon Finances Its Own Primary Through Candidate Filing Fees

Posted on by June 23, 2014
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The Independent Party of Oregon is a ballot-qualified party, but it doesn’t quite have enough registrants to qualify for a government primary. Instead, it nominates the way the other ballot-qualified minor parties do, either by convention, or by a primary paid for by the party itself.

The Independent Party has approximately 100,000 registered members, and it costs the party $24,000 to send a piece of postal mail to each registrant. Nevertheless, the party does such a mailing. The mailing tells the member that he or she can log in to the party’s web site, and request a primary ballot. The party pays for this with candidate filing fees. The highest fees are for statewide office, and are $3,000. The party provides for petitions in lieu of the filing fee as well.

The party will have a primary contest between the two major party candidates for Governor, Democrat John Kitzhaber and Republican Dennis Richardson. Oregon permits two parties to jointly nominate the same candidate, so the winner of the Independent Party primary will have the “Independent Party” label on the November ballot next to his name. For instance, if Kitzhaber wins the Independent Party primary, he will be on the November ballot as “John Kitzhaber, Democrat, Independent.” There are 38 candidates seeking Independent Party nominations for various partisan offices this year.

Illinois Petition Deadline for General Election Petitions

Posted on by June 23, 2014
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Monday, June 23, is the Illinois deadline for minor party and independent candidate petitions. The Libertarian Party is submitting 43,992 signatures for its statewide slate; the Green Party is submitting approximately 29,900 signatures for its statewide slate; the Constitution Party is submitting 30,600 signatures. In Illinois, any filing is accepted, even if it lacks the number of signatures set forth in the law. However, any petition is potentially subject to challenge from private individuals. The state requires 25,000 signatures for statewide petitions.

New Jersey Independent Congressional Candidate Ballot Access Lawsuit Update

Posted on by June 23, 2014
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Edward Forchion, also known as N.J. Weedman, is suing to get on the November ballot as an independent candidate for U.S. House in New Jersey’s Third U.S. House district. According to this story, the Superior Court has ruled that it has no jurisdiction, and that the case can only be settled in the State Appellate Court.

Forchion submitted 200 signatures, and needs 100 valid. The local Democratic Party challenged his petition, and the result was that he was told he only has 99 valid signatures. Forchion makes two points in his lawsuit: (1) the challenge to his petition was filed six days after the petition deadline, whereas the law says plainly that challenges are due four days after the deadline; (2) election officials provided incorrect maps of the district, and if the maps he were given had been correct, he would have enough valid signatures. If he gets on the ballot, his ballot label will be “Legalize Marijuana.”