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Stephen Colbert May Announce as a Write-in Candidate in Republican Presidential Primary in South Carolina

Posted on January 12, 2012 by adminJanuary 12, 2012

According to this story, Stephen Colbert may announce on his show on the evening of January 12 that he will be a write-in candidate in the Republican presidential primary in South Carolina. The primary is January 21. South Carolina Republican presidential primary ballots contain write-in space. UPDATE: South Carolina Republican presidential primary ballots do not include write-in space. Thanks to Doug Chapin, via Rick Hasen, for this update. FURTHER UPDATE: Colbert did announce, but as this article says, no one will be allowed to vote for him.

Illinois State Legislator Challenged off Republican Primary Ballot

Posted on January 12, 2012 by adminJanuary 12, 2012

On January 11, Illinois state representative Rosemary Mulligan withdrew from the Republican primary ballot, in the face of a challenge to her primary petition. See this story. She will run as a write-in candidate in the Republican primary. She needs 500 write-ins. No one else is on the Republican primary ballot in her race, which is in the 55th district.

She has been in the legislature since 1992. In November 2010, she was re-elected with 67.6% of the vote. This example shows the absurdity of the idea that voter support for a candidate should be equated with his or her ability to complete a petition. It is very likely she will receive the needed 500 votes in the Republican primary to win a place on the November ballot. If she does not, the lone Democratic candidate will probably be the only name on the November ballot. Thanks to Ken Krawchuk for this news.

Ohio Legislature Appeals to Sixth Circuit to Remove Minor Parties from Ballot

Posted on January 12, 2012 by adminJanuary 12, 2012

Last year, U.S. District Court Judge Algenon Marbley issued an injunction, putting the Ohio Libertarian Party on the ballot. The Ohio Secretary of State did not appeal, but the Ohio legislature then moved to intervene. On December 21, 2011, the Ohio legislature filed a brief in the 6th circuit, arguing that the U.S. District Court should not have put the Libertarian Party on the ballot. The brief also argues that the legislature has standing to intervene, and that its appeal is timely.

The legislature argues that when it passed a new ballot access law in the summer of 2011, that new law was constitutional, and the Libertarian Party should have then commenced to get the required 38,525 signatures, even though at the time no one knew if that law were going to be in effect or not. The uncertainty was caused by the fact that a referendum petition was filed against the new law, preventing it from going into effect. Furthermore, neither the Libertarian Party nor anyone else could possibly have known what the petition deadline would be. The new law said the petition deadline would be 90 days before the primary, but the legislature moved the date of the primary twice during the latter half of 2011. The legislature’s argument is almost laughable. The Ohio Libertarian Party will be filing its response soon. In the meantime, the state is going ahead with preparations for the Libertarian Party primary, and the primary for the other minor parties that were added to the ballot by the Secretary of State because it didn’t make sense for him to put the Libertarian Party on, and not the other minor parties.

Ohio Green Will Try to Poll 500 Write-in Votes in Green Party Primary for U.S. Senate, in Order to Appear on November Ballot

Posted on January 11, 2012 by adminJanuary 11, 2012

In March 2012, Ohio will hold a primary for seven parties. However, except for the Democratic and Republican Parties, no one will appear on any party’s primary ballot for U.S. Senate. Minor party members who might have wanted to run for U.S. Senate in their own party’s primary all were unable to get 500 signatures to appear on the statewide primary ballot, mostly because the deadline was shortened unexpectedly.

However, an Ohio Green, Joseph DeMare, is a declared write-in for the U.S. Senate Green Party nomination. Even though he is running unopposed, he cannot appear on the November 2012 ballot as a Green unless he receives 500 write-in votes on March 6. If he is able to surmount this hurdle, he will be the first minor party candidate for statewide office to ever get enough votes in an Ohio minor party primary to be on the November ballot. See this story.

DeMare had to struggle to persuade the Ohio Secretary of State’s office to accept him as a declared write-in candidate. When the Green Party first asked the Secretary of State’s office about filing as a declared write-in, the office said write-ins are not permitted in primaries for U.S. Senate. The office changed its mind after seeing evidence that there had been past declared write-in candidates for U.S. Senate in Republican and Democratic primaries.

Mitt Romney Spokesperson Publicizes that Most of Romney’s Opponents Have Not Filed Full Delegate Slates in Three States

Posted on January 11, 2012 by adminJanuary 11, 2012

This story in Politico, by Emily Schultheis, reveals that Mitt Romney’s spokesperson Andrea Saul is pointing out that most of Romney’s opponents have failed to file full slates of delegate candidates in Illinois, Ohio, and Tennessee. No mention is made of Ron Paul; presumably Paul, like Romney, did file full slates of delegates in all states in which filing has closed. Thanks to Bill Van Allen for the link.