Nevada GOP Moves Caucus from January 14 to February 4

Posted on by October 22, 2011
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As expected, on October 22, the Nevada Republican Party moved its caucuses from January 14 to February 4. This clears the way for New Hampshire to set its presidential primary on January 10.

The entire rationale for the two major parties to single out four particular states and let them go first has always been weak. But one of the rationales was the all four regions of the nation were represented by the four favored states, which were supposed to be Iowa for the Midwest, New Hampshire for the East, South Carolina for the South, and Nevada for the West. But, for 2012, it doesn’t work out that way. Nevada will be fifth, behind the three other favored states and also behind Florida.

The western states have long been disadvantaged in presidential politics. The Democratic Party has never nominated anyone either for President or for Vice-President who was from one of the thirteen western states.

Ohio Bill for Two Primary Dates Signed Into Law

Posted on by October 22, 2011
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On the evening of October 21, the Ohio House passed HB 318-substitute, and Governor John Kasich signed it into law. As a result, Ohio will hold a March primary for U.S. Senate, state legislature, and county partisan office. Also, it will hold a June 12 primary for President and U.S. House.

A little-noticed aspect of the bill also slightly eases presidential primary ballot access. The old law put presidential primary candidates who had qualified for primary season matching funds on the ballot automatically. The new law puts presidential primary candidates on the ballot automatically if they show that they have raised at least $5,000 from each of 20 states. Those qualifications match the existing federal requirements for getting primary season matching funds. This change was made to accomodate presidential primary candidates who choose not to file for primary season matching funds.

In 2008, John McCain had been put on the Ohio Republican presidential primary ballot automatically, because he had applied for federal matching funds. But then, after the FEC had ruled that he was entitled to the funds, McCain said he didn’t want them. Presidential candidates sometimes reject primary season matching funds because candidates who receive them are limited in how much they can spend. Some critics then argued that McCain should not have been permitted to be on the Ohio presidential primary ballot because, by rejecting the funds, he hadn’t truly qualified for them. The situation was ambiguous, and McCain was left on the ballot. But the new law will avoid such situations in the future. Thanks to Frontloading HQ for the news about HB 318 being signed into law.

The effect of this new law is that the statutory petition deadline for new parties remains in November 2011, the same deadline that was held unconstitutional by the 6th circuit in 2006.

Indiana Democrats Analyze 2008 John McCain Petition for Primary Ballot Access

Posted on by October 21, 2011
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On October 21, the Indiana Democratic Party issued a press release, detailing problems with John McCain’s petition to be on the Indiana presidential primary ballot in 2008. See it here. Although the release has many criticisms of the petition, the release does not allege that any signatures were forged. Indiana Democrats did this study partly to counter the publicity that the 2008 Democratic presidential primary petitions for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both contained some forgeries, enough so that if the forgeries had been detected, neither would qualified. Indiana requires 500 signatures from each of the nine U.S. House districts.

In 2008, the only candidates who appeared on the Republican presidential primary ballot in Indiana were John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul, and Mitt Romney. Obama and Clinton were the only Democrats who qualified.

The saddest part of the Democratic press release is at the bottom, where the party suggests improvements in the Indiana ballot access law for presidential primaries. Nothing is said about simply eliminating petitioning. Most states have eliminated mandatory petitions for candidates seeking a place on a presidential primary ballot, at least for candidates who are discussed in major media or who have qualified for primary season matching funds. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.

Prominent Michigan Democrat Won’t Fight Criminal Charges on 2010 Phony “Tea Party” Ballot Access

Posted on by October 21, 2011
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Michael McGuinness, formerly Democratic Party chair for Oakland County, Michigan (the second most populous county in the state), will plead “no contest” to criminal charges relating to a 2010 attempt by Democratic activists to create a ballot-qualified party called The Tea Party, and to arrange to have that party run nominees in certain districts that were perceived to be close between the two major parties. See this story.

The Tea Party did not get on the ballot in Michigan in 2010, even though its petition had enough valid signatures. The organizers made a paperwork error, and the name of the party was different on different documents. Some of the documents said the name of the party was “The Tea Party”, and other documents said it was “Tea Party.” It was therefore kept off the ballot, so none of its nominees appeared on the ballot either. The charges against McGuinness were related to forging the name of a presumed nominee of the party, when that individual actually was not a Tea Party nominee and had no desire to run for office. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.

Five Libertarian Presidential Candidates to Debate in Illinois on Saturday, October 22

Posted on by October 21, 2011
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Five declared candidates for the Libertarian Party presidential nomination will debate on Saturday, October 22, at 2:30 p.m., central time. The debate is in Illinois and is sponsored by the Illinois Libertarian Party. The debate can be watched via live stream at this link. The five candidates, in alphabetical order, are Roger Gary of Texas, R. J. Harris of Oklahoma, Carl Person of New York, Bill Still of Virginia, and Lee Wrights of Texas. Debate moderator will be Lex Green, who was the Illinois Libertarian Party nominee for Governor of Illinois in 2010. Thanks to Brian Irving for this news.