On-Line Newspaper for Chicago Suburbs Editorializes in Favor of Green Party Ballot Access Lawsuit

Posted on by November 19, 2011
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MySuburbanLife has this editorial, in support of the Green Party’s lawsuit that argues the State Board of Elections should recognize the Green Party as a qualified party for 2012 in the districts in which it polled over 5% of the vote in 2010. Illinois election law gives qualified status to any party in any political subdivision for the next election, if it polled 5% in the last election. In 2010, the Green Party polled over 5% of the vote in four U.S. House districts and four state representative districts.

However, state election officials are not recognizing that the Green Party is ballot-qualified in any of those eight districts, because in each case the boundaries of the districts shifted due to redistricting. The party is contesting that ruling in a lawsuit in state court filed earlier this month.

New Hampshire Ballot Law Commission Hears Presidential Eligibility Issue

Posted on by November 19, 2011
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On November 18, the New Hampshire Ballot Law Commission heard a challenge to whether President Obama’s name should remain on the New Hampshire Democratic Party presidential primary ballot. See this story. According to the story, at least two New Hampshire state representatives, Harry Accornero and Susan DeLemus, supported the challenge. However, the Commission voted 5-0 to retain Obama’s name on the ballot.

The story says that the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office advised the Commission that it has no power to evaluate a challenge to a presidential candidate’s ballot status, if the candidate paid the filing fee. The Attorney General’s position seems to agree with a California State Court of Appeals decision of October 25, 2010, in Keyes v Bowen, which said a California Secretary of State has no discretion to evaluate the qualifications of a presidential nominee, and “must (the word is italicized in the opinion) place on the ballot the names of the several political parties’ candidates.”

The challenges to Obama’s ballot status have larger legal implications than are usually realized. If state officials must place the names of presidential candidates on various ballots, that strengthens the precedents established by John Anderson, Robert La Follette, Theodore Roosevelt, Gus Hall, Lyndon LaRouche, and David Duke, over the last hundred years, that just because a presidential candidate appeared on a presidential primary ballot, there is no authority to keep him or her off general election ballots under a different label. Thanks to Bill Van Allen for the link.

$865 Now Pledged to Vermont Ballot Access Lawsuit

Posted on by November 18, 2011
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As reported earlier, a lawsuit challenging the Vermont June petition deadline for independent candidates will go forward, if enough contributions are pledged to help pay the cost of the transcript. As of mid-afternoon November 18, $865 has been pledged. To pledge, e-mail richardwinger@yahoo.com. Thank you.

Portland Daily Sun Reports on Progress of Americans Elect Petition in Maine

Posted on by November 18, 2011
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The Portland Daily Sun (Maine) has this story on Americans Elect. It says the group has 24,000 signatures so far on its petition for recognition as a new party, and also says that Eliot Cutler, who was almost elected Governor as an independent in 2010, strongly backs the group. The Maine petition is one of the most difficult in the nation. Maine is the only state in which only independent voters, and voters who are members of that particular party, are permitted to sign the petition. It requires 28,639 valid signatures.

Any voter in Maine is already free to register as a member of Americans Elect on voter registration forms. Maine has other procedures for a group to become a qualified party. The method that is most commonly used is for a group to run a candidate for Governor or President, using the much easier independent petition. Then, if the group’s candidate gets at least 5% of the vote, that group becomes a qualified party. The Green Party used this method to obtain party status; it has never completed the difficult party petition. The party petition procedure has only existed since 1976, and was used only once before, by the Reform Party in 1995.