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Politex Lists All Ten Unqualified Texas Parties who Filed Notice of Intent to Petition in 2012

Posted on January 22, 2012 by adminJanuary 22, 2012

Texas has a unique law, requiring that any group that intends to petition for party status must notify the state no later than January 2 of an election year. This year, ten groups filed the notice, more than ever before. The requirement has existed since 1993, has never been tested in court, and would probably be held unconstitutional if a new party formed after January 2 ever challenged it in court.

The ten groups that filed the notice are described in this Politex story. The ten are Americans Elect, Christian, Constitution, Generation, Justice, Make America Great, Reform, Revive America, Socialist, and Texas Independent Party. The Christian and Generation Parties have recently said that they don’t really expect to petition in 2012, although because they filed the notice, they are legally free to do so. Thanks to Bill Van Allen for the link.

Elected New Jersey Legislator May be Blocked from Taking Her Seat Due to Residency Requirement

Posted on January 22, 2012 by adminJanuary 22, 2012

On November 8, 2011, Gabriela Mosquera, the Democratic nominee for Assembly, 4th district, was elected to the legislature with a margin of 20,000 votes. A month later, her Republican opponent charged that Mosquera had not lived in the district for a full year. She was short 50 days.

On January 5, a lower state court in Camden blocked Mosquera from taking the oath of office. On January 27, the New Jersey Supreme Court will hear the case. It is conceivable the State Supreme Court will rule the one-year duration of residency requirement within the district violates the U.S. Constitution. Or it is conceivable that the court will find another resolution. See this story. The Fourth District is in Camden and Gloucester Counties.

Virginia Times-Dispatch Points Out that if Virginia Republicans Hadn’t Removed Loyalty Oath, Newt Gingrich Would Not Have Been Able to Vote

Posted on January 22, 2012 by adminJanuary 22, 2012

This Richmond Times-Dispatch story mentions that the Virginia State Board of Elections has complied with the Republican Party’s request to drop the loyalty oath for voters. The party had originally required all voters to pledge to vote for the Republican nominee in November, as a condition of receiving a ballot on March 6. As the story mentions, Newt Gingrich is a resident of Virginia, and he has already said that if Ron Paul becomes the Republican nominee, he will not vote for Paul. So, Newt would not have been able to vote in the March 6 primary if the oath had not been revoked.

Although Gingrich is now free to vote in his own state’s presidential primary, one wonders if he will vote, because his choices are limited to Ron Paul and Mitt Romney, and write-ins are not permitted.

Cain Polls Forty Times as Many Votes in South Carolina as in New Hampshire

Posted on January 22, 2012 by adminJanuary 22, 2012

On January 21, South Carolina’s Republican Party held its primary. The unofficial vote totals, according to Politico, are: Gingrich 243,153; Romney 167,279; Santorum 102,055; Paul 77,993; Cain 6,324; Perry 2,494; Huntsman 1,161; Bachmann 494; Johnson 213.

When one compares the New Hampshire Republican primary vote for the candidates who had withdrawn by the time of that primary, one sees that Herman Cain’s vote in South Carolina is significantly larger than his New Hampshire vote, something that is untrue for the other candidates who were on both ballots but who had withdrawn when New Hampshire voted.

Three candidates were on the ballot in both states, and had withdrawn before either primary: Michele Bachmann, Gary Johnson, and Herman Cain. In the New Hampshire Republican primary, Cain only polled 161 votes; Bachmann polled 350 votes; and Johnson polled 181 votes. The Bachmann vote in both states was about the same in each state; the Johnson vote in each state was about the same; but the Cain vote in South Carolina was forty times bigger than his New Hampshire vote. Furthermore, the final South Carolina returns will probably show slightly bigger totals for each candidate. Stephen Colbert seems to have made his influence felt.

Romney’s Illinois Presidential Primary Challenged Because Romney Used Massachusetts Notary Instead of Illinois Notary

Posted on January 21, 2012 by adminJanuary 21, 2012

According to this article, Mitt Romney’s presidential primary petition is being challenged in Illinois because Romney signed his declaration of candidacy and then had it notarized by a Massachusetts Notary Public, instead of an Illinois Notary Public. The challenge to Romney’s petition was filed by someone who is working for Rick Santorum.