New Arizona Registration Tally; Americans Elect is the Only Party to Gain Members

Posted on by July 9, 2012
Reply

The Arizona Secretary of State recently released new voter registration statistics, as of June 1. During the last three months, elections officials conducted a purge, and the number of registered voters declined. The only party that increased its registration was Americans Elect, which went from 148 registered voters to 168 registered voters.

The increase may be due to the activity of a group of Arizona activists who are promoting the Americans Elect Party and who are encouraging candidates to file for public office (other than President) in the Americans Elect primary. Any registered member of that party may file as a write-in candidate in that party’s primary. The deadline for doing that is July 17. Whoever gets the most votes, whether write-ins or not, will be the party’s nominee for that particular office in November. So far only two offices (two different U.S. House seats) have Americans Elect candidates.

Both Sides File Briefs in Case Over Whether Arizona Registration Form Should List Only the Democratic and Republican Parties

Posted on by July 9, 2012
1

On June 29, both sides filed motions for Summary Judgment in Arizona Libertarian Party v Bennett, U.S. District Court, 11-cv-856. The issue is the constitutionality of a new law that says only the two largest parties should be given checkboxes on the voter registration form.

Here is the brief filed by the Libertarian and Green Parties. Here is the state’s brief. It says that the parties lack standing and that the case is not ripe. These arguments are weak. Parties in Arizona remain on the ballot if they have registration of at least two-thirds of 1% of the state total. Generally the Libertarian Party keeps its registration that high, but just barely; and the Green Party has never had registration that high. Obviously if those two parties were listed on the voter registration form, the number of voters who register into them would be higher.

The state’s brief is misleading, because it provides a list of parties that have participated in Arizona presidential elections over the last 50 years. But, the list includes parties that were not qualified parties. The list includes every party that was not on the ballot and filed for write-in status for its presidential nominee; and it also includes parties that were not ballot-qualified by which placed their presidential nominees on the ballot under the independent candidate procedure. The state implies, but does not assert, that all these groups were ballot-qualified parties and should have been listed on the voter registration form if the state loses the lawsuit.

Socialist Workers Party Regains Qualified Status in Florida, Announces Presidential Ticket

Posted on by July 8, 2012
8

On July 3, the Socialist Workers Party regained qualified party status in Florida. Qualified status for a party in Florida does not depend on submitting a petition, or having any particular number of registered voters. Instead, it depends on the party’s submitting a list of party officers and bylaws. This sounds easy, and it is relatively easy, although the state is remarkably fussy about the details of a party’s bylaws.

Recently the Socialist Workers Party announced its presidential and vice-presidential nominees. They are James Harris, 64, for President, and Maura DeLuca, 33, for Vice-President. Harris was also the party’s presidential nominee in 1996 and 2000.

The ticket expects to appear on the ballot in seven states: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Washington. That would be the fewest number of states that the Socialist Workers Party has been on the ballot for President since 1956, when it was only on in four states. States in which the party qualified for the ballot in 2008, but which the party won’t attempt in 2012, are Delaware, New York, and Vermont.

U.S. Supreme Court Puts Washington State Top-Two Open Primary Case on September 24 Conference

Posted on by July 7, 2012
5

The U.S. Supreme Court will hold a conference on Monday, September 24, to decide which cases to hear in the upcoming term. Among the cases to be considered on that day are the Washington State Democratic and Libertarian Party cert petitions in the case over the top-two open primary law. The Court may possibly reveal on Friday, September 28, what it has decided; or it may reveal this on Monday, October 1; or it may be undecided and then set an additional conference date in October. Sometimes the Court thinks about a particular case for three or four conferences before it decided whether to take a case.