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Working Families Party Chooses its Own Nominee in Brooklyn Legislative Race

Posted on September 3, 2011 by adminSeptember 3, 2011

The Working Families Party in New York seldom chooses its own nominee for state or federal office, but it has done so in the September 13 special election to fill the vacant Assembly seat, 54th district, in Brooklyn. This lengthy New York Times article suggests that the WFP nominee, Jesus Gonzalez, has a chance to win the election. The other candidates on the race are Rafael L. Espinal, who has the nomination of the Democratic, Republican, and Conservative Parties, as well as the “United We Can” label; and Deidra C. Towns, who is on the ballot as an independent candidate with the label “Community First.”

All three candidates are registered Democrats.

Arkansas Green Party Begins Fourth Consecutive Petition Drive Today

Posted on September 3, 2011 by adminSeptember 3, 2011

Arkansas law requires a party that wishes to be on the ballot to submit 10,000 signatures. The group chooses its own petitioning period, and the job must be done within 90 days. The Green Party starts its 2012 petition drive today, September 3. This is the fourth time the party has had to do this work. It also completed the petition in 2006, 2008, and 2010.

Each time the Green Party has been on the ballot in Arkansas, it has shown substantial voter support. Nevertheless, the law requires a party to constantly re-qualify, unless it polls 3% for the office at the top of the ticket in each election. If the party can keep up its stamina, perhaps election officials will get tired of constantly checking petitions, and the legislature may improve the law on party retention.

The only other parties that have qualified by petition in Arkansas have been the Reform Party in 1996, and the Libertarian Party earlier this year. Before 1971, parties were permitted to be on the Arkansas ballot just by being organized; no petition was needed. Parties that want to be on the ballot in Arkansas just for President don’t need to complete the 10,000-signature petition; they just need 1,000 signatures.

Democratic, Republican Parties File Lawsuit Against New Indiana Law that Eliminates Offices from Ballot When Only One Person Runs

Posted on September 3, 2011 by adminSeptember 3, 2011

Earlier this year, the Indiana legislature passed a bill that says in municipal elections (which are partisan in Indiana), if only one person is running, the office should be removed from the ballot and that person should be deemed elected. On September 2, the Republican Party of Wayne County, Indiana, and the Democratic Party of Wayne County filed a lawsuit, arguing that the new law violates the State Constitution. See this story. It will be heard on September 9. Some candidates for Richmond common council joined the lawsuit.

The law says, “An election may not be held for a municipal office if there is only one nominee for the office or only one person has filed a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate.”

States that remove offices from the ballot when only one person is running (this policy in these states covers all elections, even Congressional elections) are Arkansas, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. States with laws like this either ban write-in votes, or else require write-in candidates to file a declaration of write-in candidacy several months before the election, which defeats one of the purposes of having write-in space on ballots: to account for late-breaking developments.

C-SPAN Will Present “The Contenders”, 14 Weekly Shows Featuring a Presidential Candidate Who Lost But Changed Policy

Posted on September 3, 2011 by adminSeptember 3, 2011

Starting September 9, C-SPAN will present a new series, “The Contenders”. Each of the fourteen shows will present the story of a presidential candidate who ran and lost, but who changed U.S. political history. The series includes three candidates who ran outside the major parties: Eugene Debs, George Wallace, and Ross Perot. The others in the series are Henry Clay, James G. Blaine, William Jennings Bryan, Charles E. Hughes, Al Smith, Wendell Willkie, Thomas E. Dewey, Adlai Stevenson, Barry Goldwater, Hubert Humphrey, and George McGovern. The shows will be broadcast at 8 p.m, one per week. Thanks to Jack Ross for the link.

August 2011 Ballot Access News Print Edition

Posted on September 3, 2011 by adminSeptember 3, 2011

Ballot Access News
August 1, 2011 – Volume 27, Number 3

This issue was printed on white paper.

Table of Contents

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