Four Independent Presidential Petitions Submitted to Tennessee

Posted on by August 17, 2012
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The deadline for independent presidential petitions has passed in Tennessee. Four candidates submitted a petition by the deadline: Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party, Rocky Anderson of the Justice Party, Merlin Miller of American Third Position, and Virgil Goode of the Constitution Party.

The federal courts put the Green Party and the Constitution Party on the ballot this year, so the Green Party and the Constitution Party didn’t need to petition for their presidential candidates. But because Tennessee election officials have hinted they don’t believe the court order applies to presidential nominees, the Constitution Party did the independent petition for Goode just to be safe.

Scientific Study Finds that When 10% of a Population have an Unshakeable Position on a Social Issue, that Position Will Eventually Prevail

Posted on by August 17, 2012
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Approximately a year ago, scientists at the Social Cognitive Networks Academic Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute published a paper, which is described in this article. The findings are that when at least 10% of a population comes to an unshakeable conviction about a social issue, that idea will eventually prevail and be adopted by a majority. See here. Thanks to Phil Berg for the link. The theory has important implications for people who study dissident political movements, including minor parties.

Maryland State Court of Appeals Upholds Petitions Collected via the Internet

Posted on by August 17, 2012
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On August 17, the Maryland State Court of Appeals, the highest state court in Maryland, issued this brief order, agreeing with the lower court that petitions are valid when the blank petition forms had been distributed to volunteer circulators via the internet and the circulator’s home printer. The order says the court will explain its reasoning later. The case is Whitley v Maryland State Board of Elections, 133-2011.

The action puts a referendum on the ballot that asks voters if they want to repeal the state’s congressional redistricting plan. The Democratic Party tried to persuade the court to invalidate the petition, on the basis that petition blanks cannot be distributed that way. The program also made it possible for voters at home to print a blank petition, sign that petition as a voter, and also sign off as the volunteer circulator. Furthermore, the program made it possible to the signer’s address to be printed by the signer-circulator’s home printer, thus easing legibility concerns, at least for the address. Here is a story about the issues in the case, written before the decision came out. Thanks to Doug McNeil for this news.