According to the web page of the Arizona Americans Elect Party, at least 360 voters who are registered members of that party voted in the August 28 primary. The party appears to have nominated two candidates for Congress.
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According to this analysis, published in Arizona’s largest daily newspaper, the August 28 Arizona primary results indicate the 2013 session of the Arizona legislature will be more centrist, more closely balanced between the two major parties, and more business-friendly.
This conclusion has some consequences for the ongoing battle over whether Arizona should convert its elections to top-two open primaries. Business has been heavily backing the initiative because it has been so unhappy with the “Tea Party” influence in the 2011-2012 session of the legislature.
On August 30, U.S. District Court Judge Paul Borman set September 6 for a hearing in Libertarian Party of Michigan v Ruth Johnson. The state has until September 4 to file its response to the Libertarian Party’s brief asking for summary judgment, and then the party can respond the next day. The hearing will be in Detroit at 3 p.m. on September 6. The issue is whether Gary Johnson can be on the ballot. The Libertarian Party is ballot-qualified but the state says it won’t print Johnson’s name because his name appeared on the February presidential primary ballot.
Although the Michigan Libertarian Party’s submission of Johnson’s name asked that, if Johnson can’t appear, that the state party’s presidential second-choice is Gary E. Johnson of Austin, Texas, the state has never responded to that alternate choice, and its web page continues to list no Libertarian for President. The party’s lawsuit does not discuss the alternate Johnson.
The state’s web page also does not list James P. Gray for vice-president. Presumably the state has also disqualified all the Michigan Libertarian Party presidential elector candidates, even though it has not said that formally. In 1960, Michigan permitted voters to cast votes for an unpledged slate of presidential electors, who were running for the Independent American Party, a party that only existed in Michigan.
The Working Families Party of New York will formally choose a presidential nominee on September 5. It is overwhelmingly likely that it will nominate President Obama.
The real mystery concerning New York ballot-qualified parties is which presidential candidate the Independence Party will choose. The deadline for qualified parties to submit this information is September 10. The New York State Independence Party continues to tell people that it will decide on September 22, but that is too late.
On August 29, the Alaska Division of Elections determined that the Green Party’s petition for “Limited Political Party” status is valid. A “Limited Political Party” in Alaska is one that is entitled to have its presidential and vice-presidential nominees on the November ballot. This is the first successful statewide petition in Alaska for the Green Party since 1994. The party was ballot-qualified 1994 through 2004.