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Americans Elect Begins Difficult Maine Petition Drive

Posted on October 6, 2011 by adminOctober 6, 2011

This newspaper story from Lewiston, Maine, discusses the Americans Elect petition drive in that state, which began recently. The Maine petition requires 28,639 valid signatures, and must be completed by December 8, 2011. Furthermore, only voters who are not registered members of the three qualified parties (Democratic, Republican, and Green) may sign.

This petition procedure has been in place since 1976, and only once before has any group successfully used it. In 1995, the Reform Party completed this petition.

Maine has other, easier ballot access procedures for minor parties. In Maine, a statewide independent needs 4,000 signatures, and he or she is free to choose any short partisan label (as long as it doesn’t mimic the name of a qualified party). That label is printed on the general election ballot next to the name of the candidate. The easier independent petition method is the normal means for placing a minor party on the ballot, but Americans Elect is using the more difficult party petition because Americans Elect doesn’t know who it will be running for president, and the candidate petition requires the candidate to be named on the petition.

Socialist Party of France Uses Primary to Choose Presidential Nominee; Charges Voters One Euro to Vote

Posted on October 6, 2011 by adminOctober 6, 2011

The Socialist Party of France will choose its presidential candidate by a primary on Sunday, October 9. According to this story, voters must pay one Euro in order to vote, and also must attest that they are sympathetic to the left side of the spectrum. It appears that the party is paying for the administration of the primary, and the purpose of charging each voter one Euro is to pay the expenses of administering the primary.

Nevada Republican Presidential Caucus to be January 14, 2012

Posted on October 5, 2011 by adminOctober 5, 2011

On October 5, the Nevada Republican Party announced it will hold its presidential caucuses on January 14, 2012. As a result, the only states that haven’t set their delegate selection dates are Iowa and New Hampshire.

It is possible that the New Hampshire presidential primary will now be moved to January 7, a Saturday. New Hampshire has never before held a presidential primary on a Saturday. If New Hampshire chooses January 7, then Iowa caucuses will probably be January 3. If so, the delegate selection process in 2012 for the Republican Party will have lasted almost seven months. The last process is Utah, on June 26, 2012. Never before in U.S. history will the presidential primary season have lasted so long. In the first half of the 20th century, the presidential primary season typically started in March, and the national conventions were in June. Thanks to Frontloading HQ for this news.

You Tube Features How 318,240 Signatures Were Collected in Five Weeks to Put Ohio’s HB 194 to a Referendum

Posted on October 5, 2011 by adminOctober 5, 2011

This three-and-one-half minute you tube describes the petition-gathering campaign conducted in Ohio in August and September to put HB 194 to a referendum. Opponents of the bill collected 318,240 signatures in only five weeks. Assuming the petition has enough valid signatures, HB 194 can’t go into effect until after voters vote on it, in November 2012.

HB 194 is the bill that supposedly restored a constitutional ballot access law for minor parties, by changing the deadline from four months before the primary, to three months before the primary. Because the old law had been held unconstitutional, passage of HB 194 was a great defeat for minor parties, because it gave the Secretary of State an excuse to start imposing petitions again. Of course there were many other law changes in the bill, many of which were fiercely opposed the the Ohio Democratic Party and its labor allies. The bill made it more difficult for voters to cast an early vote, and put new restrictions on provisional ballots. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link. The you tube is associated with President Obama’s re-election campaign, but the content of the you tube only deals with the referendum petition.

Another Indiana State Court Rules Against New State Law that Leaves Unopposed Candidates Off the Ballot

Posted on October 5, 2011 by adminOctober 5, 2011

A lower state court judge in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, has ruled that the new state law, saying unopposed candidates should be left off general election ballots (if they are running for local partisan office), should not be followed. Two similar rulings have already been made this year in other parts of Indiana. See this story.