August 2011 Ballot Access News Print Edition

Posted on by September 3, 2011
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Ballot Access News
August 1, 2011 – Volume 27, Number 3

This issue was printed on white paper.

Table of Contents

  1. FOURTH CIRCUIT ISSUES FIRST FAVORABLE MINOR PARTY OR INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE RULING IN 21 YEARS
  2. REPUBLICANS WIN NEVADA LAWSUIT
  3. NORTH CAROLINA BALLOT ACCESS BILL
  4. OTHER BALLOT ACCESS BILLS
  5. OTHER CALIFORNIA LEGISLATIVE NEWS
  6. LAWSUIT NEWS
  7. ADMINISTRATIVE RULINGS
  8. MOST CROWDED GENERAL ELECTION BALLOT FOR STATEWIDE OFFICE
  9. 2012 PETITIONING FOR PRESIDENT
  10. AMERICANS ELECT IN CALIFORNIA
  11. FRED NEWMAN DIES
  12. WORKING FAMILIES PARTY GAINS AN OFFICE-HOLDER IN PENNSYLVANIA
  13. RON PAUL WON’T SEEK RE-ELECTION
  14. 2010 ELECTION RETURNS BOOK
  15. ERRATA
  16. SUBSCRIBING TO BAN WITH PAYPAL

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Arizona’s 2012 Presidential Primary will be in February, not January

Posted on by September 2, 2011
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On September 2, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, who is free to set the date of the state’s presidential primary to any date in January or February, said she will not put the presidential primary in January. See this story from Frontloading HQ. The Republican National Committee just sanctioned a Republican presidential debate to be held in Arizona, as an incentive for her not to choose a January presidential primary.

She hasn’t said when the February presidential primary will be held. If she doesn’t move it at all, it will be February 28. Republican Party national rules say no state except New Hampshire, Iowa, Nevada, and South Carolina, may hold a primary or a caucus earlier than March, but usually a few states break the national rules.

Two-Thirds of Tea Party Caucus Members in the U.S. House are from “Open Primary” or “Top-Two Primary” States

Posted on by September 2, 2011
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According to the wikipedia article on the Congressional Tea Caucus, that caucus has 60 members in the U.S. House of Representatives. Forty of them are from states that have either open primaries or top-two primaries. This observation is not meant to express any opinion about the Tea Party Caucus. Nor is it meant to express any opinion about different types of primary systems. Nor is it even meant to suggest any causation between type of primary system, and propensity of a state to elect Tea Party Caucus members.

Political scientists Boris Shor and Seth Masket have shown that there is no correlation between type of primary system, and degree of polarization and partisanship in state legislatures. Presumably that conclusion would apply equally to Congress, if they had studied Congress. But because the mainstream press regularly assumes that open primaries, or blanket primaries, or top-two primaries, produce more “moderate” politicians, this observation is being posted.

Michele Bachmann founded the U.S. House Tea Party Caucus, and she is from an open primary state.

Connecticut State Judge Puts Candidates on Democratic Primary Ballot, Postpones Primary

Posted on by September 2, 2011
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On September 2, a Superior Court judge in Bridgeport, Connecticut, restored a slate of candidates for Mayor and Selectman to the Democratic Party’s primary ballot. The judge also postponed the primary from September 13 to September 27. See this story. The case is Foster v Ayala, Fairfield Co. Superior Court, cv-11-602-1487 S. Here is the decision.

A slate of candidates for city office had been kept off the ballot, because the petition (which was permitted to list multiple candidates for various city offices) also included candidates for Board of Education. However, there is no Board of Education election in Bridgeport this year. The city had rejected the entire petition because the petition included the names of candidates for Board of Education. The candidates then sued, arguing that it doesn’t follow logically that just because some of the candidates on the petition can’t run (because that particular office isn’t up), therefore the entire petition is invalid. Thanks to Matt Waggner for the link to the decision.