On February 28, the South Dakota Secretary of State determined that the Libertarian Party petition for party status has enough valid signatures. This is the first 2012 Libertarian Party petition for party status that has been approved by any state, since the party’s Arkansas petition was approved in June 2011.
On February 28, the presidential campaign for Stephen Durham received a letter from the California Secretary of State, saying that Durham has been placed on the Peace & Freedom Party presidential primary ballot. Thanks to Bob Richard for this news.
This Nebraska newspaper story is mostly about the fact that Nebraska still lets each U.S. House district choose its own presidential elector. But the more interesting part of the story is in the second half, which discusses the odds that 2012 will see a tie in the electoral college.
Ties in the electoral college are the forgotten disaster waiting to happen. Most commentators who write about the U.S. House choosing the president forget about it. They assume that the U.S. House will only choose the President if there is a presidential candidate other than the Democratic and Republican nominees who gets electoral votes.
The electoral college had an odd number of electors until 1961, when the Constitution was amended to give 3 electoral votes to the District of Columbia. Ever since there has been an even number of electoral college members.
When the U.S. House chooses the President, each state gets one vote, regardless of its population.
According to this story, a church in El Paso, Texas, will ask the Texas Supreme Court to rule that churches may help get a recall petition on the ballot, whether the church is incorporated or not. On February 17 a State Appeals Court had decertified a recall petition against the Mayor of El Paso, even though the recall petition had enough signatures. The Appeals Court said corporations, even incorporated churches, can’t make contributions to a recall. The case is Cook v Tom Brown Ministries.
On February 28, David Boren, a former Governor and U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, participated in the Americans Elect press conference in Oklahoma. The press conference was called to announce the turn-in of 90,000 signatures on the Americans Elect petition for party status. Here is Boren’s statement.
Boren was elected Governor in 1974. In 1978 he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he remained until he resigned in 1994 to become President of the University of Oklahoma, a post he still holds. His son, Dan Boren, is the only Democratic member of Congress from Oklahoma.
