Early this year, Rocky Anderson founded the Justice Party and was nominated as its presidential candidate. His attempts to get on various state ballots were helped when four one-state parties which were already ballot-qualified nominated him as their presidential candidate. These four parties were the Connecticut Independent Party, the Michigan Natural Law Party, the New Mexico Independent Party, and the Oregon Progressive Party. All four parties had nominated Ralph Nader for President in 2008.

Of those four parties, two have now lost their qualified status, because Anderson didn’t poll enough votes. The New Mexico Independent Party went off the ballot because Anderson polled less than one-half of 1%. And the Connecticut Independent Party lost its presidential ballot access because Anderson polled less than 1%.

However, the Oregon Progressive Party remains ballot qualified because of its vote for the other statewide offices. The Natural Law Party remains ballot-qualified in Michigan because of its vote for Regent of the University of Michigan.

One-state qualified parties that nominated Nader in 2008, but which ran no presidential nominee in 2012, are the Delaware Independent Party and the Florida Ecology Party. The Peace & Freedom Party of California in 2008 nominated Nader, and in 2012 nominated Roseanne Barr. The three parties mentioned in this paragraph continue to be ballot-qualified (also, Peace & Freedom is no longer just a one-state party).

A November 10 blog post at this site said that 25 minor party and independent candidates had been elected to state legislatures this month. Checking records of past elections reveals that this is the highest such number since 1942, when there were 31 such candidates elected. In 1944, there were 22 such candidates elected, and at no time since 1944 (until 2012) had there been any election with more than 17.

None of the independent and minor party candidates who were elected in 2012 were elected from states with a top-two primary system.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections has finished counting votes for candidates who were on the ballot, although it still hasn’t completed the write-in canvass for President. It appears that in 2014 (and also 2016) the state will require 89,379 valid signatures, both for a new party and an independent statewide candidate. This is the highest number in all 50 states for a statewide independent candidate in 2014. Thanks to Kevin Hayes for the number. Activists in North Carolina will again try to pass a bill in 2013 to ease the requirement.