On May 2, the South Carolina Supreme Court unanimously ruled that over 100 candidates who filed in the Democratic and Republican June 12 must be removed from the ballot. They all failed to file a statement of economic interests. The case is Anderson v South Carolina Election Commission. It is possible the legislature will rush a bill through, which will still permit these candidates to run. The Democratic and Republican Parties may also ask for a rehearing, although it is unlikely the Court would change its mind at this late date.

Qualified minor parties in South Carolina all nominate by convention, and no minor party candidates are affected, as far as is known.

On May 2, the Oklahoma House rejected the Senate amendments to HB 1058. HB 1058 is the bill that was introduced in 2011 in the House to ease ballot access for newly-qualifying parties. As passed last year in the House, the bill cut the number of signatures from 5% of the last vote cast (currently 51,739 signatures) to exactly 22,500. This year the Senate passed the bill, but amended it so it does not decrease the number of signatures at all in presidential years; as amended, all the bill does is cut the number of signatures in mid-term years.

The action of the House, on May 2, 2012, rejecting the Senate amendments, is a good sign. It seems to show the House still likes the original House version, which is a much better version. The House has appointed its members to a Conference Committee.

The number of signatures needed for an independent candidate in Arizona will be 31,111 valid signatures this year, for statewide office. The formula is 3% of the number of active registered voters who are not members of a qualified party. However, any registered voter may sign an independent candidate’s petition.

The Arizona law is irrational, because independents for statewide office now need substantially more signatures than a newly-qualifying party needs. Newly-qualifying parties this year need 23,041 valid signatures. The independent requirement is now 35% higher than the requirement for parties.

However, independent candidates in Arizona this year can easily get on the November ballot, without any petition at all, for any partisan office other than President, if they are willing to register as members of Americans Elect. Anyone can be a write-in candidate in the Americans Elect primary on August 28, for any partisan office (other than President), if that individual registers as a member of the party, and in June files a write-in declaration of candidacy in that party’s primary. If only one person does this, he or she can receive the nomination with only a single write-in vote.