The National Conference of State Legislatures has prepared this convenient chart on when the state legislature of each state convenes in 2012. A few state legislatures won’t meet during 2012. Most state legislatures convene either this week or next week. Thanks to Thomas Jones for the link.
Bradblog.com has this post, documenting that the Iowa Republican caucuses don’t require government photo-ID in order to vote in the Iowa Republican caucus tonight, even though the Iowa Republican Party sets the rules for its own caucuses. The blog post also has interesting information about the rules that let anyone register as a Republican on caucus day, and then to participate. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.
The three judges who will hear Kurita v The State Primary Board of the Tennessee Democratic Party on January 17 will be Judges Ronald Gilman, Eric Clay, and Alice Batchelder. This is a Sixth Circuit hearing. Judges Gilman and Clay are Clinton appointees, and Judge Batchelder is a Bush Sr. appointee. The issue in the case arose in 2008, after the Tennessee Democratic Party determined that Rosalind Kurita would not be its nominee for re-election to the State Senate, even though she won the Democratic primary. The case will test the extent to which the U.S. Constitution lets political parties control their own nomination process.
Ballot Access News
December 1, 2011 – Volume 27, Number 7
| This issue was printed on white paper. |
Table of Contents
Texas has a unique law that says any party that wishes to petition for a place on the ballot must tell the Secretary of State no later than January 2. The law would probably be held unconstitutional if it were challenged, but it has never been challenged. It was passed in 1993. The law is wildly irrational because the petition itself can’t legally begin to circulate until April. If this law has been in existence before 1993, many important minor parties, such as Strom Thurmond’s States Rights Party of 1948, and Theodore Roosevelt’s Progressive Party of 1912, and the Republican Party in 1854, would have been barred from the Texas ballot, because they weren’t formed until the middle of the election year.
Texas also has discriminatory ballot access laws that make it far more difficult for an independent presidential candidate to get on the ballot, than for a new party.
Donald Trump feels that it is possible he may wish to be an independent presidential candidate in 2012. Therefore, because he was aware of the Texas laws, he took the precautionary step of having his supporters tell the Texas Secretary of State that the “Make America Great Party” may wish to circulate a petition in Texas later this year. By having taken this step, if he should decide to be an independent presidential candidate in 2012, he is free to use the easier minor party petition procedures in Texas instead of the independent candidate petition procedures.
Texas election law section 161.002(a) says a party name may not be longer than three words. UPDATE: the offical filing says the name of the party is “Make America Great”, not “Make America Great Again”. The first draft of this post has been revised to show the corrected party name. Thanks to Bill Van Allen for this news.
