Some of the nation’s smaller or newer political parties have recently launched petition drives to place themselves, or their presidential nominees, on the November ballot. The Party for Socialism and Liberation has completed its Vermont petition. The Socialist Party is petitioning in New Jersey. American Third Petition is petitioning in West Virginia, Mississippi, and New Jersey. The Justice Party, having finished qualification efforts in Mississippi and Utah, is petitioning in Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

On March 8, the Maine Legislature’s Joint Taxation Committee unanimously passed LD 1826. It hasn’t received a vote in either house yet, but it probably will next week. It repeals the provision that puts a question on the State Income Tax form that asks taxpayers if they wish to send a small donation to the political party of their choice.

This bill, if enacted, will injure the Green Party, because approximately half of the party’s income comes from the tax checkoff. In many recent years in Maine, the Green Party has received more donations than the Republican Party from the income tax checkoff.

On March 22, Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed HB 233. It provides that when a party meets the 2% vote test, it is then on the ballot for the next four years. The old law said a party must pass the 2% vote test every two years.

It is far easier for a party to poll 2% in presidential years, when five or six statewide offices are on the ballot, than in midterm years, when there is almost never more than one statewide office on the ballot. The offices up in presidential years, besides President, include U.S. Senate (two-thirds of the time), Attorney General, Auditor, and Treasurer. But in midterm years, only U.S. Senate is ever on the ballot (and even that isn’t on in one-third of the years), except in the rare instances when there is a vacancy in a statewide office and a special election is held.