Four Presidential Petitions Filed in Wisconsin; State Elections Office Questions Validity of Two of Them

Posted on by August 9, 2012
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The Wisconsin deadline for independent presidential candidates, and the presidential nominees of unqualified parties, has passed. Four petitions were submitted for President: Gary Johnson (Libertarian), Jill Stein (Green), Gloria LaRiva (Party for Socialism and Liberation), and Jerry White (Socialist Equality Party).

The state elections office rejected the petitions of Jill Stein and Jerry White because the board says there is a residency requirement for presidential elector candidates, and a group must have a resident in each U.S. House district. However, as noted on yesterday’s post about Jerry White, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in 2004 that presidential petitions may not be rejected on those grounds. The 2004 decision was won by Ralph Nader. The Stein and White campaigns will point this out to the state elections officials.

The Constitution Party and Americans Elect are ballot-qualified parties in Wisconsin, and thus no petition is needed for their presidential nominees. The Party for Socialism and Liberation petitioned for Gloria LaRiva instead of its actual presidential candidate, Peta Lindsey, because Wisconsin will not print the name of presidential candidates on the ballot if those presidential candidates don’t meet the qualifications listed in the U.S. Constitution. Lindsey is under the age of 35.

Colorado Has 16 Presidential Candidates, Tied for Most Crowded Presidential General Election Ballot in U.S. History

Posted on by August 9, 2012
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This year, Colorado will have sixteen presidential candidates listed on its ballot, the highest number of presidential candidates on a general election in U.S. history, except that Colorado also had sixteen in 2008. However, there have been many instances when states had more candidates than that on their presidential primary ballots. This post was updated on September 15 to correct some errors.

Colorado has five qualified parties, and those parties’ nominees, of course, are on the ballot automatically. They are the Democratic, Republican, Constitution, Green, and Libertarian Parties.

Then there are eleven candidates who qualified by paying the $500 fee and submitting a list of presidential elector candidates. They include four parties with “socialist” or “socialism” in their name: the Socialist Party, the Socialist Workers Party, the Socialist Equality Party, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation. The Party for Socialism and Liberation presidential candidate in Colorado is Gloria LaRiva, because the party’s actual presidential candidate, Peta Lindsey, is under age 35.

Then there are two independent presidential candidates: Jill Reed of Wyoming, and Sheila Tittle of Virginia.

Finally, there are four other minor parties: Justice Party, running Rocky Anderson; Peace & Freedom, running Roseanne Barr; Objectivist, running Tom Stevens; American Third Position, running Merlin Miller; and America’s Party, running Tom Hoefling. Thanks to William Fenwick for the Colorado list. The Colorado deadline for independent candidates, and the presidential nominees of unqualified parties, to pay their $500 was August 8.

U.S. District Court Judge Finds New York City Board of Elections is Liable for Violation of Federal Laws Protecting the Disabled

Posted on by August 9, 2012
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On August 8, U.S. District Court Judge Deborah A. Batts, a Clinton appointee,, granted summary judgment to two groups that represent disabled individuals, in their claim that the New York City Board of Elections is liable for violating federal laws that protect access to the polls for disabled persons. The case is United Spinal Association v Board of Elections in the City of New York, southern district, 10-cv-5653.

The 31-page decision is filled with examples of specific polling places in recent past elections at which wheelchair access was virtually impossible. The Board defended itself by saying it has a policy of re-assigning disabled voters to other nearby polling places, but the Court found that the Board had put the burden on the disabled individual to find appropriate alternative polling places, and that it is the Board that should be responsible for finding such alternate polling places. See this story.

Yet Another Lawsuit is Filed in South Carolina to Remove a Candidate who Allegedly Didn’t File Campaign Finance Documents in March

Posted on by August 8, 2012
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See this story. Yet another lawsuit has been filed to remove a candidate in South Carolina from the general election ballot. One wonders if private detectives have been at work in South Carolina, searching for candidates who didn’t file the needed campaign finance forms back in March, yet who hadn’t yet been caught. Thanks to Eugene Platt for the link.

Wisconsin Invalidates Socialist Equality Presidential Petition Because of Presidential Elector Candidate Residency

Posted on by August 8, 2012
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The Socialist Equality Party turned in 3,200 signatures to place its presidential nominee, Jerry White, on the ballot. The state requires 2,000. However, the state disqualified the petition because the state says one presidential elector candidate needs to live in each U.S. House district. However, in 2004, the State Supreme Court ruled in favor of Ralph Nader, and said there is no need for a residency requirement for presidential elector candidates, other than that they live in Wisconsin. That case was Nader v Dane County Circuit Court. The Socialist Equality Party will bring this to the attention of the election officials.