Ballotpedia is a web page with extensive information about U.S. elections, including election returns. See here for more about Ballotpedia. Recently, Ballotpedia added school district elections to its page, but so far the page only includes the 1,000 largest school districts in the nation. Here is the link to the school district information.
The August 19 Newsday has this editorial, suggesting several changes to how candidates for partisan office are nominated in New York. Newsday is the largest daily newspaper in New York’s suburban counties on Long Island. The editorial recommends that voters be allowed to switch parties and make that switch effective quickly. Current law won’t let a voter switch parties except in the year before the change takes effect.
The editorial also calls on making it illegal for two parties to jointly nominate the same candidate, but the editorial writer (and many of the commenters) seem unaware that in 1912, the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, interpreted the New York Constitution to protect the ability of two parties to nominate the same candidate.
The editorial also recommends easier ballot access for candidates to get on a primary ballot. The New York legislature has adjourned for the year, so any changes can’t be made until next year. Thanks to William Stevenson for the link.
The Wyoming Secretary of State has released the registration tally as of August 1, 2013. Percentages in each party are: Republican 64.93%; Democratic 20.77%; independent 13.41%; Libertarian .73%; Constitution .12%; Country .03%; Americans Elect .02%. The Country Party and Americans Elect are no longer ballot-qualified, but they still have members.
In November 2012, the percentages had been: Republican 66.70%; Democratic 21.26%; independent 11.52%; Libertarian .47%; Constitution .04%; Country .01%; Americans Elect .003%. Thanks to Michael for this news.
Chris Henrichsen, the 2012 Democratic nominee for U.S. House in Wyoming, writes in this column on Patheos.com that he has registered to vote as a member of the Green Party. He now lives in Nevada. The Green Party is not currently ballot-qualified, but it will regain its place on the ballot if it can get its registration up to 9,738. The party believes it has approximately 4,000 registrants in Nevada, but the exact number is difficult to know because Clark County, the most populous county in the state by far, won’t release the data.
The party could also get back on the ballot if it submitted a petition of 9,738 valid signatures.
Henrichsen was unopposed for the Democratic congressional nomination in Wyoming in 2012. At the time he was a 35-year old political science instructor at Casper College. He is a member of the LDS church and campaigned in 2012 as a pro-life candidate. Thanks to Thomas MacMillan for the link.
On August 19, the Virginia State Board of Elections asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Judd v Libertarian Party of Virginia. This is the case won by the Libertarian Party in both U.S. District Court and in the 4th Circuit, over whether states may ban out-of-state petitioners. Many states have lost similar lawsuits, but Virginia is only the second one, after Arizona, to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its appeal.
In 2009 the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Arizona’s appeal of the same issue. Arizona had arranged for approximately twelve states to file an amicus curiae supporting the state, but the Court still refused to hear the case.
Page seven of Virginia’s petition says that the Libertarian Party has never polled more than .6% of the presidential vote in Virginia, but actually in 2012, the party polled .81% of the total presidential vote in Virginia. Also in 1980, it polled .69% for president in Virginia.
The state’s petition says that the party has never shown enough support in Virginia to enjoy “party” status, but does not say that Virginia requires a vote of 10% for a group to become a political party, far in above of the national median vote requirement of 2%. No state requires a higher percentage of the vote for party status than Virginia, except Alabama, which requires 20%.
The state’s petition does not mention all the presidential candidates with substantial support who tried and failed to get on the Virginia presidential primary ballot, or the general election ballot. They include, in 2012, Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, and Jon Huntsman; in 2008, Chris Dodd; in 2004, Ralph Nader; in 2000, John Hagelin; in 1996, Ralph Nader.
