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Illinois Petition Deadline for General Election Petitions

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Richard WingerJune 23, 2014

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 June 23, 2014 by Richard WingerJune 23, 2014

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.”

United Independent Party Qualifies for Massachusetts Gubernatorial Race

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Richard WingerJune 23, 2014

The petition for Evan Falchuk, the nominee of the United Independent Party for Governor, has enough signatures in Massachusetts. See this story. The towns have already validated more than the needed 10,000 signatures. If Falchuk gets at least 3% of the vote in November, his party will then be ballot-qualified for 2016.

Montana Republican Party State Convention Votes to Work for a Closed Republican Primary

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Richard WingerJune 22, 2014

On June 21, delegates to the Montana Republican Party state convention endorsed the idea that the party should work to close its primaries. Montana has always had open primaries. See this story. The party also endorsed run-offs for general elections, when no one gets 50% in November. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.

Senator Rand Paul Will Introduce a Bill to Permit Some Ex-Felons in All States to Vote in Federal Elections

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Richard WingerJune 22, 2014

According to this Politico article, Senator Rand Paul is about to introduce a bill to permit ex-felons who had been convicted of non-violent crimes to register to vote in all states. However, the bill will only apply to federal elections, because the U.S. Constitution says states can set voting qualifications for state and local elections.

There have been similar bills in many sessions of Congress in the past, but they never pass. This bill might have a better chance than any previous bill, because it has the potential to gain support from Republican members of Congress as well as Democratic members. Thanks to AroundtheCapitol for the link.