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Civitas Institute Poll for North Carolina Gubernatorial Race Puts Libertarian at Seven Percent

Posted on July 7, 2012 by adminJuly 7, 2012

On July 5, Civitas Institute released a poll for the North Carolina gubernatorial election, showing Libertarian Barbara Howe at 7%. See the details here. If Howe gets 7% in the election itself, that will be the highest percentage for any North Carolina gubernatorial candidate who was not the Republican or Democratic nominee, since 1912. In 1912, the Progressive Party nominee for Governor of North Carolina, Iredell Meares, polled 20.4% of the vote, placing second ahead of the Republican nominee, Thomas Settle, who got 17.9%.

Libya Holds Congressional Election for First Time in Fifty Years, Uses Proportional Representation

Posted on July 7, 2012 by adminJuly 7, 2012

On July 7, Libya held a national election for its Congress, the first such election in that country in 50 years. See this article, which explains that Libya is using proportional representation, in combination with direct election of constituency seats.

Grassroots Party Nominates a Presidential Ticket

Posted on July 7, 2012 by adminJuly 7, 2012

The Grassroots Party will place a presidential ticket on the ballot this year, in Minnesota and possibly other states. The presidential candidate is Jim Carlson of Duluth, Minnesota; the vice-presidential candidate is George McMahon of Iowa.

The Grassroots Party also entered the presidential elections of 1988, 1992, 1996, and 2000. The party wants to legalize marijuana. Thanks to Oliver Steinberg for this news. The Grassroots Party this year also has a candidate for U.S. Senate on the Minnesota ballot. That candidate is Tim Davis.

North Carolina Tries to Get Ballot Access Case Dismissed in Advance of Trial

Posted on July 7, 2012 by adminJuly 7, 2012

The Green and Constitution Parties have a lawsuit pending in federal court against North Carolina’s May petition deadline for new parties. The deadline is especially harmful, given that North Carolina requires more signatures to place a minor party or independent presidential candidate on the ballot than any other state except California. For 2012, 85,379 signatures are required.

On June 28, the state filed a Motion for Summary Judgment, saying the entire case should be dismissed now, even before the scheduled trial in 2013, on the grounds that the two plaintiff parties have only made feeble attempts to get on the ballot. The state ignores the precedents that say that parties have standing to challenge early petition deadlines, whether they make any effort to complete the petition or not. On July 6, the parties filed a brief, making this point.

Arizona Governor, Legislative Leaders Drop Plans to Place a Competing Primary System on the November 2012 Ballot

Posted on July 7, 2012 by adminJuly 7, 2012

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, and legislators, briefly considered a special session of the legislature to pass some alternate primary system and place it on the November ballot as a constitutional amendment. However, they have dropped plans to do this. See this story. The top-two initiative, assuming it qualifies, will be the only statewide ballot measure dealing with election law on the ballot.