On March 16, U.S. District Court Judge William J. Haynes refused to stay his own ruling in the Tennessee ballot access case, Green Party of Tennessee v Hargett, 3:11-0692. The original decision in this case, handed down on February 3, 2012, struck down the state’s ballot access law for newly-qualifying parties. It also ruled that a 2011 law, providing that the two major parties should always have the top two spots on the ballot, is unconstitutional. Finally, it ordered the state to recognize the two plaintiff political parties, the Green Party and the Constitution Party.

The state had then asked Judge Haynes to stay his own opinion. Specifically the state asked him to stay the part of the decision on the order of political parties on the ballot, and the part of the decision that put the two plaintiff parties on the ballot.

The March 16 Memorandum from the Court rebuts the state’s argument on ballot order. The state, in its request for a stay, had asserted that Tennessee has party column ballots, and that the social science research on the effect of ballot order cited in the original February 3, 2012 decision only relates to office-group ballots. Judge Haynes went to the trouble of finding examples of recent Tennessee ballots. The ballots he found, and which he attached to his opinion, prove that in some populous counties in Tennessee, an office-group ballot is used.

An “office-group ballot” lists each office up for election, and then underneath that particular office heading, lists all the candidates running for that office. By contrast, a “party-column” ballot divides the ballot into rectangular boxes, with all of one particular party’s nominees in one column (or, in one row, depending on the layout).

The Tennessee vocabulary for these ballot types does not use the common vocabulary. In Tennessee law, an office-group ballot is called a block-ballot, and a party-column ballot is called a “party block ballot.” The decision uses the Tennessee terms, not the standard terms.

On March 15, the Arizona House Judiciary Committee passed SCR 1021 by a vote of 5-2. It places a measure on the November 2012 ballot asking if voters wish to de-fund the public funding program, which applies to candidates for state office. The bill has already passed the Senate.

Texas parties remain ballot-qualified in presidential election years if they poll at least 5% for any partisan statewide race. This year in Texas, the following statewide offices are up: President, U.S. Senate, Railroad Commission full term, Railroad Commission short term, Justice of the Supreme Court seat 2, Justice of the Supreme Court seat 4, Justice of the Supreme Court seat 6, Presiding Judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals seat 7, Judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals seat 8. That is ten offices.

No Democrat filed to run for five of those offices. Whenever there is a partisan election in which only one of the two major parties runs anyone, any minor party nominee on the ballot in that election typically polls at least 5%. Because the Libertarians and Greens do have candidates in some of the statewide offices with no Democrat running, it is quite likely that each of those parties will meet the vote test in 2012.

The Libertarians polled over 2% for Governor in 2010, and under Texas precedent, that guarantees the Libertarian Party a spot on the 2012 and 2014 ballots in any event, so technically Libertarians don’t need to meet the 5% vote test in 2012. But, the law is worded ambiguously, so Libertarians will be more secure if they do get 5% for a statewide race in 2012.

Posts for which the Green Party has a candidate, but the Democratic Party does not, are Railroad Commission short term, and Justice of the Supreme Court seat 4. Libertarians have a candidate in all the statewide races.

In U.S. House races, Libertarians have a candidate in all 36 districts, and Greens have candidates in 16 districts. No party has actually nominated for any offices in Texas yet, and just because someone has declared for a party nomination does not guarantee that the party will nominate anyone. But, of course, it is extremely likely that the vast majority of candidates who filed for a minor party nomination will receive the nomination. The Libertarian and Green Parties nominate by convention.