The unofficial New Jersey gubernatorial election results are:
Republican Chris Christie 1,242,116
Democrat Barbara Buono 780,779
Libertarian Ken Kaplan 11,821
Green Steven Welzer 8,045
LaRouche organization Diane Sare 3,263 (her ballot label was Glass-Steagall Now)
Peace & Freedom William Araujo 3,187
independent Hank Schroeder 2,706
independent Jeff Boss 2,016 (his ballot label was NSA Did 911)
The number of signatures needed for statewide minor party and independent candidates in Pennsylvania in 2014 depends on the number of votes cast in the November 5, 2013 election, for Judge of the Superior Court. The formula is 2% of the winning candidate’s vote, for the statewide partisan candidate with the largest vote total.
There was only one partisan statewide judicial election on November 5, 2013, for Superior Court Judge. The Republican nominee, Vic Stabile, won with only 51%. When all the votes are counted, it appears he will only have polled about 850,000 votes, so the 2014 statewide petition will be only 17,000. That is the lowest number required in Pennsylvania since 1970. Low turnout out in the November 5, 2013 election is a major part of the reason for the low 2014 requirement.
Pennsylvania quadrupled the petition requirement in 1971. Before 1971 it was one-half of 1% of the winner’s vote. Thanks to Ken Krawchuk for this news.
On November 6, the Arkansas Secretary of State said the Green Party petition is valid, and the party is back on the ballot. This is the first state in which the Green Party has successfully petitioned for party status during 2013. This is the fifth time the party has had to comply with the law, which requires 10,000 valid signatures.
The party finished the petition for 2014 earlier in the election cycle than it has done in the past. This gives it more time to recruit candidates. It elected a state legislator in 2012, and elected another state legislator in 2008.
The reason the party needs to keep petitioning over and over is that the state removes parties from the ballot unless they poll at least 3% for the office at the top of the ticket, every two years. This means 3% for President in a presidential year, and 3% for Governor in a gubernatorial midterm year. Possibly the legislature in 2014 will consider changing the vote test, so that 3% for any statewide race counts. Thanks to Mark Jenkins for this news.
The Green Party is on the ballot for statewide office in 19 states now. It lost its status a few months ago in New Mexico because the Secretary of State reversed an old favorable precedent which had said that when a party submits a petition, it gets the next two elections. The New Mexico Greens petitioned in 2012 so under the old precedent, it would have been on in 2014 as well. The New Mexico Constitution Party is in the same situation, and is trying to raise money to sue to restore the old precedent. If the Constitution Party wins, that would put the Greens back on as well.
The Green Party is in danger of losing its ballot status in Ohio, if the legislature passes SB 193.
Earlier this year, the commission that sets salaries for California state elected officials raised those salaries. Because the candidate filing fee is tied to the salary of the office, this means the 2014 filing fees will be somewhat higher for state office than they had been in 2012. For example, the fee to run for the legislature rises from $906 to $953. See this story. Filing fees for state legislature are 1% of the salary; filing fees for statewide office are 2% of the salary.
On November 5, 2013, Green Party members won these non-partisan elections: Anna Trevorrow to the Portland, Maine, School Board; Josh Plourde to the Bangor, Maine, city council; Cam Gordon to the Minneapolis city council; and Brian Cummins to the Cleveland, Ohio, city council. Also, Green Party members won 16 non-partisan local races in California. See here for the list. The winners in 2013 are high-lighted in yellow, but some of the winners were elected in earlier months in 2013.
There are probably other wins, which will be reported when they are known. Thanks to Michael for the list of California Green wins.
