California Bill to Eliminate Loyalty Oath for Candidates for Party Office Advances

Posted on by May 16, 2014
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On May 15, the California Assembly passed AB 2766. The bill deletes the requirement that candidates for County Central Committee must file a loyalty oath, saying they do not advocate the violent overthrow of the government. The existing law was declared unconstitutional last year, and only applies to candidates in the Democratic, Republican, and American Independent Parties.

The leader of the American Independent Party, Mark Seidenberg, had testified against this bill when it was in the Assembly Elections Committee, but the representative of the Secretary of State responded at that hearing that if the party desires to require the oath for its candidates for party office, the party is free to have its own bylaw requiring the oath.

Vermont Legislature Passes Bill for Later Petition Deadlines for Independent and Minor Party Candidates

Posted on by May 16, 2014
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On May 10, the Vermont legislature passed Senate Bill 86, the omnibus election law bill. It moves the petition deadline for independent candidates, and the nominees of unqualified parties, from June, to August. The presidential petition will always be due August 1. The deadline for independent and minor party candidates for other office will be five days before the primary. In 2014, that deadline will be August 7, and the primary will be August 12.

Assuming the Governor signs the bill, the only states that have an independent presidential petition deadline earlier than July are Illinois, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Texas. Illinois, New Mexico, and North Carolina have June deadlines. The Texas statutory deadline is not settled, and is entangled with various lawsuits on redistricting which also affect primary dates.

The Vermont bill also moves the primary from late August to mid-August. It takes effect immediately.

Former Nebraska Legislator Somewhat Likely to Run for U.S. House as an Independent Candidate

Posted on by May 16, 2014
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According to this story, it is somewhat likely that former Nebraska State Senator Chip Maxwell will run for U.S. House this year, 2nd district as an independent. If he runs, he needs 2,000 signatures by September 1.

Maxwell was a State Senator between 2000 and 2004. At the time he was a registered Republican. He switched his party affiliation to “independent” on December 31, 2013, keeping his options open for running as an independent in 2014. He has a two-hour radio show every Saturday morning and is the author of a book. Here is his web page.

Nebraska’s Second District is centered on Omaha and is the only U.S. House seat in Nebraska which is competitive between the two major parties. In November 2012, the vote was: Republican Lee Terry 133,964; Democrat John W. Ewing 129,767.

This year, the Libertarian Party also has a nominee for the 2nd district seat, Steven Laird. In order to win the Libertarian nomination, he had to defeat another Libertarian in the party’s primary. It is rare for any minor party to have a contested primary in Nebraska.

Five Parties Participate in Debate for “President of Europe”

Posted on by May 16, 2014
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On May 15, a 5-party debate was held in Brussels, Belgium, for candidates who seek the Presidency of the European Commission. See this BBC story.

European Parliamentary elections are being held May 22-25. Voters in the European countries that are part of the European Commission do not actually vote for President of the Commission. Instead, the European Council nominates candidates for President, and then the Parliament chooses the president. However, the most important coalitions of political parties have already chosen their preferred presidential designate, and these are the five individuals who participated in the debate. The debate lasted 90 minutes and was broadcast in 24 languages. The coalition of conservative political parties did not choose a preferred presidential candidate, so it had no voice in the debate. Thanks to Thomas Jones for the link.