The Rhode Island Secretary of State had determined that all five presidential independent petitions submitted this year are valid. The two newly-validated petitions are those for the Party for Socialism and Liberation, and the Justice Party. The Secretary of State had previously said that the Libertarian, Green and Constitution Party petitions are valid.

On September 13, the Kansas State Objections Board rejected the attempt of national leaders of the Reform Party to have Andre Barnett listed as the Reform Party presidential nominee. The national convention of the Reform Party, meeting in Philadelphia August 11-12, had chosen Barnett for President. But the Kansas Reform Party state officers certified Chuck Baldwin as the state party’s presidential nominee.

The State Objections Board, composed of the Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State, heard testimony about the dispute, and then ruled that the state party has the authority to name the presidential electors, and therefore the state party determines which presidential nominee to list. The same board made a similar ruling in 2008, when the state Reform Party also chose Baldwin for President, even though the 2008 national Reform Party convention had chosen Ted Weill for President.

Now that the Reform Party of Kansas has clearly established that it, and not the national convention, has authority to determine the presidential nominee, it is possible that the state party will revise its presidential nominee. Baldwin is apparently willing to withdraw in favor of Virgil Goode.