The Arizona Supreme Court has set a briefing schedule in Save our Vote v Bennett, cv-12-0272. This is the case over whether the initiative petition for the top-two open primary violates the single-subject rule. The single-subject rule requires that initiatives concern a single issue.
The opening briefs from each side are due August 10. The response briefs for each side are due August 14.
Even though the Natural Law Party ceased to exist as a national political party in 2004, it is still ballot-qualified in Michigan. It recently held its state convention and nominated Rocky Anderson for president. In 2008 the party had nominated Ralph Nader for president, and in 2004 it had nominated Walt Brown (Socialist Party nominee) for president.
During the last week of July, several leaders of Americans Elect within Oklahoma held a state Americans Elect convention. All the registered voters in Americans Elect were informed of the convention, and about half of them participated. They elected state officers, and also nominated candidates for presidential elector who are pledged to Gary Johnson for President and James P. Gray for Vice-President. On August 7, they submitted the names of their presidential elector candidates to the State Board of Elections.
These state leaders of Americans Elect believe that Johnson has at least a chance to poll 10% of the vote for President in Oklahoma, and that would keep the party on the ballot for 2014. They are not necessarily libertarians, but they respect the Johnson campaign. The Libertarian Party is currently in court over its own ballot status.
Although a U.S. District Court Judge in Tennessee put the Constitution Party and the Green Party on the Tennessee ballot back in February, it has been puzzling that the State Elections Division had not yet posted the names of those parties’ nominees for public office. However, the Elections Division has now said that the official list of November 2012 candidates will not be posted until August 30.
The Green Party nominee for U.S. Senate, Martin Pleasant, has the potential to poll more than 5% of the vote, because the winner of the Democratic Party primary for U.S. Senate has been disavowed by the state Democratic Party, because of his political views. In a somewhat analogous situation, in 2010, in South Carolina, the Democratic Party also disavowed its U.S. Senate nominee, Alvin Greene. In the November 2010 U.S. Senate race in South Carolina, the Green Party nominee, Tom Clements, polled 9.21%. Of course, that was a race in which the Republican incumbent (Jim DeMint) was easily re-elected. The situation is similar in Tennessee this year, where Republican incumbent Bob Corker, is virtually certain to be re-elected easily.
If Martin Pleasant gets at least 5% of the vote, the Green Party will be ballot-qualified automatically in 2014 and 2016. It would be the first party, other than the Democratic and Republican Parties, to poll enough votes to maintain its qualified status in Tennessee since George Wallace obtained that status in 1968 for the American Party. Even the Reform Party never enjoyed qualified party status in Tennessee. Ross Perot qualified as an independent in Tennessee in 1996. Tennessee is the only state in the nation in which the Reform Party tried to get on the ballot as a party in 1996, and failed.
The Arkansas petition deadline for minor parties that only want to be on the ballot for president has now passed. The independent presidential petition deadline has also passed. The signatures of most petitions that were submitted have not yet been checked. But if all the petitions are valid, there will be nine presidential candidates on the November ballot.
Arkansas has four parties that are qualified for all office: Democratic, Republican, Green, Libertarian. In addition, these groups used the 1,000-signature petition to qualify only for presidential ballot status: Party for Socialism and Liberation, American Third Party, and American Hemp. Americans Elect also has that status, but is not expected to use it for any purpose.
Also, these independent presidential candidates filed petitions: Virgil Goode and Rocky Anderson.
