Ohio Green Declares for Governor

Posted on by November 25, 2013
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On November 24, Dennis Spisak said that he will seek the Green Party’s nomination for Governor of Ohio. He was the party’s nominee in 2010, and he polled 1.52% in a four-party race. It is very likely that the Green Party will intervene in the pending Libertarian Party lawsuit, arguing that the new ballot access law cannot be applied for the 2014 election. Assuming that lawsuit wins, Ohio will hold a Green Party primary. If the lawsuit does not win, the Green Party will need approximately 28,000 valid signatures before early July 2014 in order to place Spisak on the November ballot with the party label. Or he could run as a statewide independent for 5,000 valid signatures, which are due in May. See this story about Spisak.

Pennsylvania Democratic Nominee for Local Office Asks for New Election, Because His Name was Accidentally Omitted from Ballot

Posted on by November 25, 2013
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A Court of Common Pleas in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, will hold a hearing on Wednesday, November 27, on whether to hold a new election for Wayne Township Supervisor. The case was brought by the Democratic nominee, Bruce M. Peterson. His complaint is that his name was accidentally left off the November 5, 2013 ballot. The county is not opposing the lawsuit, so chances are he will win the lawsuit and obtain a new election. See this story.

Virginia State Board of Elections Certifies Election Returns for November 5, 2013 Election

Posted on by November 25, 2013
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On November 25, the Virginia State Board of Elections certified the election returns from this month’s election. Here are the totals from the State Board of Elections’ webpage. The webpage continues to say that the results are unofficial, but they are the same totals as the official totals. The Attorney General race was won by 165 votes, by Democratic nominee Mark Herring. It is considered a certainty that the Republican nominee, Mark Obenshain, will ask for a recount. He has ten days to do that and the government will pay for the recount. See this story. Thanks to PoliticalWire for the link.

Maryland Republican Party Rejects Resolution to Let Independent Voters Vote in 2014 Republican Primary

Posted on by November 25, 2013
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On November 23, the Maryland Republican Party rejected a resolution to allow independent voters to vote in the Republican 2014 primary. See this Washington Post story. The party will reconsider the idea in the future, and might open its 2016 primary.

The Maryland Republican Party already let independent voters vote in its 2000 primary, but afterwards, the party returned to a closed primary. The article does not mention the 2000 experiment. Thanks to Nancy Hanks for the link.

Socialist Alternative Hopes to Use its Success in November 2013 Elections to Expand

Posted on by November 24, 2013
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Socialist Alternative is asking for funds, to increase the number of branches around the U.S., and also to pay off its campaign debt. The organization has much greater visibility than it did in the past, as a result of electing Kshama Sawant to the Seattle city council, and also coming close to electing Ty Moore to the Minneapolis city council. See the party’s fund appeal here, at www.socialistalternative.org. The party also had a candidate in 2013 for City Council in Boston, Seamus Whelan. However he did not do as well as the party’s other two candidates. He polled 3,118 votes for city-council-at-large, placing 15th among 19 candidates, with four to be elected.

The Socialist Party, the Freedom Socialist Party, and Socialist Action, have all issued statements congratulating the Socialist Alternative Party for its success. However, The Militant, weekly newspaper of the Socialist Workers Party, has not mentioned Socialist Alternative.