U.S. District Court in Los Angeles Refuses to Enjoin California Top-Two System

Posted on by July 12, 2012
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On July 12, U.S. District Court Judge Percy Anderson declined to enjoin California’s top-two open primary system. The case is Elise Brown v Debra Bowen, 2:12-cv-5547. This case is very new, and had been filed by a San Bernardino County Democrat on June 26, 2012. She lives in the Eighth U.S. House district, a strongly Republican district including rural and suburban parts of San Bernardino County and Inyo County. The only two candidates who will be on the November 2012 ballot in that district are Republicans.

The brief order says “At most, plaintiff has established that she lives in a district in which Democrats were unable to coalesce around a single candidate to secure a spot on the general election.” Here is the opinion.

Actually, Democrats did a good job of coalescing in that race. Only two Democrats ran in the June 5 primary, but ten Republicans ran, as well as former Republican legislator Anthony Adams who ran as an independent. Nevertheless, the two top vote-getters were Republicans Paul Cook and Gregg Imus, both very conservative. Here is a link to the unofficial returns for that race. California official election returns for the June 5, 2012 primary are set to be released by the Secretary of State on Friday, July 13, at the end of the day.

Judge Anderson says this case is about associational rights, but actually it is about voting rights.

Can a Ballot-Qualified Political Party Commit Legal Suicide?

Posted on by July 12, 2012
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Reportedly, national leaders of Americans Elect are planning to ask state officials to de-certify the party, in all the states in which the party is now ballot-qualified. However, there is no legal precedent that gives state or national party leaders the legal ability to take that step.

In 1986, Adlai E. Stevenson III formed the Illinois Solidarity Party, got it on the ballot, and ran as its nominee for Governor of Illinois. He polled 40%, far more than the amount needed to give the party qualified status for the next four years. He had set out at the beginning of the year to be the Democratic Party nominee for Governor, but even though he won the party’s nomination at the March primary, he resigned from the ticket and created the Illinois Solidarity Party because a supporter of Lyndon LaRouche had won the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor. If Stevenson had remained the Democratic nominee, he would have been forced to run as part of a joint ticket with the LaRouche supporter in November.

After the 1986 election was over, Stevenson and other Democrats who had created the party did not desire to see the Illinois Solidarity Party on the ballot in Illinois in 1988 or 1990. But, they did not believe they had the legal authority to cause the party to lose its qualified status. Instead, Democrats in the 1987 session of the legislature passed SB 10, giving the party officers the ability to end the legal existence of the party. Governor James Thompson, a Republican, vetoed the bill. The New Solidarity Party then participated in the 1988 and 1990 elections as a ballot-qualified party. In those elections, it fell under the control of New Alliance Party activists, and its 1988 presidential nominee was Lenora Fulani.

States in which Americans Elect is currently ballot-qualified are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

New Presidential Choices Emerge for California’s Two Oldest Ballot-Qualified Minor Parties

Posted on by July 12, 2012
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Both the Peace & Freedom Party, and the American Independent Party, first qualified for the California ballot in January 1968. Both parties will choose presidential nominees in August. Peace & Freedom will hold its convention in Los Angeles August 4-5, and American Independent will hold its convention in Sacramento August 11. At this point, no one knows which candidate will receive either party’s nomination.

Recently, Reverend Wiley Drake of Orange County, California, said that he will seek the AIP nomination. He was the party’s vice-presidential nominee in 2008.

On July 10, Roseanne Barr sent an e-mail to the state chair of PFP, saying she is seeking the nomination of PFP. On the evening of July 11, Barr was in attendance at the Green Party national convention in Baltimore and participated in a forum there.

Illinois State Board of Elections Will Hear Objections to Four Presidential Candidates’ Ballot Access on July 23

Posted on by July 12, 2012
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On July 23, the Illinois State Board of Elections will hear Rob Sherman’s objections to the ballot status of Virgil Goode, Rocky Anderson, Stewart Alexander, and Michael Hawkins. Sherman is free to withdraw his objections to their petitions at any time up until July 23. Sherman challenged the petitions because they lack enough signatures, but in Illinois, candidates who file a petition with a smaller number of signatures than the legal requirement still go on the ballot, if no one challenges.

Virgil Goode is the Constitution Party nominee. In 2008 the Illinois Constitution Party filed a petition with only a small amount of signatures on it for President, but no one challenged, so the party’s 2008 presidential nominee, Chuck Baldwin, appeared on the November ballot. Rocky Anderson is the Justice Party nominee; Stewart Alexander is the Socialist Party nominee; Michael Hawkins is an independent candidate using the label “Together Enhancing America.”

Here is a news story about the challenge, which focuses on the fact that Sherman is chair of the Cook County Green Party.