Libertarian Qualifies for Ballot Access in Upcoming Special U.S. House Election in Florida

Posted on by November 19, 2013
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Here is the list of qualified candidates in the upcoming special election in Florida, for U.S. House, 13th district. Lucas Overby, a Libertarian candidate in that race, paid the filing fee of over $10,000 to be on the ballot. The Democratic nominee will be Alex Sink, and the Republican nominee will be chosen in a special primary. One write-in candidate, Michael Levinson, will have his write-ins counted.

Overby had tried to qualify with petitions in lieu of the filing fee, but his petition was 19 valid signatures short, so he had to pay the entire filing fee. The election will be March 11, 2014. Here is a newspaper story about the race. UPDATE: here is a news story about how the money was raised.

Illinois Ballot Access Case Re-Assigned to a New Judge, for the Second Time

Posted on by November 19, 2013
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In April 2012, the Illinois Libertarian Party filed a ballot access case in U.S. District Court, challenging: (1) the law that says new parties must run a full slate of candidates; (2) the June petition deadline. Judge Joan Gottschall then enjoined the full-slate law, but did not rule on its constitutionality. The case is Libertarian Party of Illinois v Illinois State Board of Elections, 1:12cv-2511.

Later, the case was transferred to a new U.S. District Court Judge, Thomas Durkin. When new judges are appointed, it is customary that they receive a workload of old, pending cases. Then, on November 19, 2013, the Illinois Libertarian Party case was re-assigned again, to an even newer judge, Andrea Wood, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate a few weeks ago.

FEC Staff Prepares Two Draft Opinions on Whether Tea Party Leadership Fund Deserves Disclosure Exemption

Posted on by November 18, 2013
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The Federal Election Commission will vote on November 21 on a request by the Tea Party Leadership Fund to be exempt from federal disclosure laws. The basis for the request is that individuals publicly identified as donors are likely to be harassed. The FEC staff has drafted two possible rulings, one that says “yes” and one that says “no.” Here is a link to both drafts. Thanks to Thomas Jones for the link.