Vermont Supreme Court Will Hear Arguments in Ballot Access Case on September 12

Posted on by August 21, 2012
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The Vermont Supreme Court will hear Trudell v Markowitz, 2011-311, on Wednesday, September 12. This is the case that challenges the independent candidate petition deadline established by the legislature in 2009. The 2009 change moved the deadline from September to June, a drastic change that change has created many problems in the presidential election of 2012. Only one petitioning candidate for President, Peta Lindsay, met that deadline this year. Vermont is tied for having the nation’s earliest independent presidential deadline.

On a related matter, on August 20, Rocky Anderson submitted his presidential petition to the Vermont Secretary of State. The towns have certified more than 1,000 valid signatures, so he will be on the ballot unless the State Supreme Court issues a stay of the opinion in Anderson v State of Vermont. On August 6, the lower state court in that case had given Anderson and the Justice Party two more weeks to complete the petition.

Arizona Supreme Court Issues Explanation of Its February Decision, Keeping a Candidate off the Ballot Because of her Poor English Skills

Posted on by August 20, 2012
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On February 7, the Arizona Supreme Court had issued a two-page order in Escamilla v Cuello, cv-12-39, agreeing with the lower court that Alejandrina Cabrera should be kept off the ballot for City Council of San Luis, Arizona. On August 20, the Supreme Court finally explained its reasoning. Here is the 15-page opinion. The Court agreed with the lower court that the candidate, whose primary language is Spanish, does not have enough skill with English to serve in office. Thanks to Mark Brown for this news.

San Luis is on the Mexican border.

Virgil Goode is Only Presidential Candidate Who Filed for Write-in Status in North Carolina

Posted on by August 20, 2012
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North Carolina is the only state that requires presidential write-in candidates to file a petition if they wish their write-ins to be counted. The only presidential candidate who collected the needed 500 signatures this year is Virgil Goode, Constitution Party nominee. This is the only the second time that the Constitution Party has had this status. In 1996, the other time, Howard Phillips was credited with 258 write-in votes.

The three presidential candidates who will have their names printed on the ballot in 2012 are the nominees of the Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian Parties.

In 2008, the Green Party did obtain write-in status in North Carolina for Cynthia McKinney. She was credited with 158 write-ins.

Hearing Set in Case Over “None of The Above” on Nevada Ballots

Posted on by August 20, 2012
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U.S. District Court Judge Robert C. Jones will hear Townley v State of Nevada on Wednesday, August 22, at 10 a.m., in Reno. This is the lawsuit over “None of the above” (actually, in Nevada, it is “None of These Candidates”). Plaintiffs argue that if that option appears on the ballot, the law must make it binding. In other words, if Nevada is going to have a “NOTA” then if “NOTA” gets the most votes, no one is elected. The argument is highly theoretical, but is based on the definition of “vote” and the need to treat all votes equally.

Some of the Republican presidential elector candidates are plaintiffs, and plaintiffs argue that if “NOTA” is not binding, then it should be removed from the ballot. Under current Nevada law, “NOTA” only appears on primary and general election ballots for statewide office, not for U.S. House or legislature or local office. Judge Jones is a Bush Jr. appointee.

California Bill Dies; Would have Outlawed Paying Registration Drive Workers on a Per-Registration Card Basis

Posted on by August 20, 2012
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California AB 145, by Assemblyman Richard Pan, will not pass in the current legislative session. This is the bill to criminalize paying registration drive workers on a per-registration card basis. This is the second bill Pan has introduced this year on this subject. The first was AB 2058, which failed to pass several months ago in the Senate Public Safety Committee. AB 145 failed to pass the Assembly Rules Committee and it is now too late for bills that didn’t pass committees to be enacted.

The only feasible method for minor parties to obtain a place on the California ballot, or to remain on the ballot, is for such parties to have over 100,000 registered members. Making it more difficult for them to carry out registration drives would have been a serious blow to their efforts to get on, or remain on, the ballot.