New Hampshire Republican Presidential Primary Will List 30 Candidates

Posted on by October 29, 2011
Reply

Thirty candidates will be listed on the January 10, 2012 New Hampshire Republican presidential primary ballot. This is the second-most crowded presidential primary ballot in U.S. history. The most crowded ever was the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary ballot in 1992, when thirtysix candidates were listed. See this story.

The New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary only has 14 candidates listed, the smallest number in the New Hampshire Democratic primary since 1980.

New Hampshire has very strict ballot access laws for the general election, which courts have upheld on the theory that voters will be confused if too many candidates appear on the ballot. In 2004, only three presidential candidates appeared on the New Hampshire November ballot.

Florida Fails to Persuade 3-Judge Court in Washington, D.C., to Expedite Case over 2011 Election Law Changes

Posted on by October 28, 2011
Reply

On October 28, a 3-judge U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., denied Florida’s request to expedite the lawsuit over whether Florida’s 2011 election law changes violate the federal Voting Rights Act. See this story. Five counties in Florida are under section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The Florida legislature earlier this year passed an omnibus election law bill which, arguably, violates the Voting Rights Act. Florida could have asked the U.S. Justice Department to pre-clear the changes, but instead Florida opted to ask a court to do that instead.

Massachusetts Secretary of State Files Brief in State Supreme Court on Presidential Stand-ins

Posted on by October 28, 2011
Reply

On October 27, the Massachusetts Secretary of State filed this 20-page brief in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, in Libertarian Association of Massachusetts v Galvin, SJ-2011-0348. This is the lawsuit on whether the existing law does or does not provide for presidential stand-ins. Earlier this year, the First Circuit had said there is no federal constitutional right for presidential stand-ins, but had suggested that the Massachusetts state courts should settle whether the law does in fact permit it.

Although the Secretary of State’s brief is fairly lengthy, nowhere does it acknowledge that the law was interpreted to permit stand-ins, at least for vice-president, in 1980, 1996, 2000, and 2004. The brief claims that the Supreme Judicial Court should not hear the case because the Libertarian Party lacks standing and there is no ongoing case or controversy. The brief does admit that in 2007, the Secretary of State told the Libertarian Party that if the party intended to use a stand-in presidential candidate, that the Secretary would prepare a form that allows members of the party to request the substitution of the stand-in presidential candidate. See footnote 5 on page nine of the brief.

Texas Green Party 2010 Ballot Access Lawsuit is Still in Court

Posted on by October 28, 2011
Reply

In 2010, the Texas Green Party successfully petitioned for a spot on the Texas ballot, and appeared on the ballot, despite a Texas Democratic Party lawsuit that said the party’s petition drive might have been paid for by a corporation. That lawsuit was Texas Democratic Party v Texas Green Party, Travis Co., d-1-gn-10-1924. Before the 2010 election, a lower court judge had removed the party from the ballot, but the Texas Supreme Court had reversed that order and put it back on.

Now the corporation that paid for the Green Party’s petition drive has filed a federal lawsuit, pointing out that (1) Texas law already permits corporations to contribute to parties for “normal overhead, administrative and operating costs” and that petitioning for minor parties fits that description; (2) regardless of that point, it is unconstitutional for a state to forbid a corporation from making a donation to a political party. The new federal case is Take Initiative America, Inc., v Texas Democratic Party, western district, 1:11-cv-701-SS. If a trial is held in this case, it will be in September 2012. It seems likely that the state court case will now be dismissed, and the federal court lawsuit will take its place. One of the co-plaintiffs in the case is Free & Equal, Inc., the petitioning firm that collected the signatures.