Number of Qualified Parties in Florida Expected to Decline

Posted on by November 15, 2011
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Ever since 1999, Florida has had extremely easy procedures for parties to become ballot-qualified. All they had to do was file a list of state officers and bylaws. Under a bill passed in 2011, however, parties must have at least three officers, and they must all be registered members of their own party. This story predicts that these requirements will soon reduce the number of qualified parties to ten or so. The author lists the parties he expects to continue to exist, but for some reason he failed to include Americans Elect.

Massachusetts Moves Non-Presidential Primary from September 18 to September 6

Posted on by November 15, 2011
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On November 11, Massachusetts Governor Duval Patrick signed HB 3788, which moves the non-presidential primary from September 18 to September 6. This makes it possible for Massachusetts to comply (just barely) with the 2009 federal law that requires overseas absentee ballots to be mailed at least 45 days before any federal primary or federal general election. There could still be a problem if there are any primary contests that are so close that it takes an extra long time to determine the primary winner.

September 6 is a Thursday, not a Tuesday. The state did not want to hold an election on the day after a federal holiday. The primary date change has no effect on the petition deadline for independent candidates and the nominees of unqualified parties.

The fact that HB 3788 has been signed reduces the chances that the legislature will pass the bill that combines the March presidential primary and the September non-presidential primary into a unified primary in June, even though that idea would save at least $8,000,000. Thanks to Josh Putnam of Frontloading HQ for this news.

Louisiana State Court Asks Republican Party to Intervene in Case over March 2012 Election for Party Officers

Posted on by November 15, 2011
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In Louisiana, qualified political parties with at least 5% of the registration elect committee members at the presidential primary. Louisiana’s next presidential primary is March 24, 2012. Louisiana law expects these major parties to draw their own district boundaries for the election of state committeemembers. The Republican Party is still using districts for these internal party office elections that are based on the 2000 census.

Recently, a member of the Republican Party state committee filed a lawsuit against the Secretary of State to freeze the Republican Party committee member elections until the party draws new districts based in the 2010 census. See this story. On November 15, the judge in the case asked the Republican Party to intervene. If the Republican Party does not draw new districts, a fallback is to use the new legislative districts instead.

Canadian Supreme Court Asked to Hear Case on Voting Systems

Posted on by November 15, 2011
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Fairvote Canada, and the Association for the Revindication of Democratic Rights, have asked the Supreme Court of Canada to take a case that argues that winner-take-all elections violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. See this story. The lower court had upheld the existing Canadian system, which, like almost all elections in the United States, provides that whichever candidate gets the most votes is the winner.

Tenth Circuit Sets Oral Argument in Constitution Party Lawsuit over Kansas Voter Registration

Posted on by November 15, 2011
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The 10th circuit will hear Constitution Party of Kansas v Biggs, 11-3152, on January 18, 2012, Wednesday, at 9 a.m. in Denver. This is the case over whether Kansas must let voters register as members of parties that are not ballot-qualified but which are active in elections in that state. The Constitution Party placed its presidential nominee on the ballot in Kansas in 2004 using the independent candidate petition method, and in 2008 by having the ballot-qualified Kansas Reform Party nominate him.