Earlier this year the Catoosa County (Georgia) Republican Party refused to place some candidates for county office on its May primary ballot, because the county party officers felt the candidates aren’t “bona fide” Republicans. Georgia does not have registration by party so there is no objective method to determine who is or isn’t a party member.

A trial state court then put the candidates on the primary ballot, and they won their primaries. The county party appealed to the State Court of Appeals, but the State Court of Appeals transferred the case to the State Supreme Court. The State Supreme Court said the party was negligent in taking too much time to appeal, so dismissed the case on those grounds. Thus the bigger issue of whether parties in Georgia can block candidates from their primaries on political grounds is still unresolved. Precedent in Georgia says parties can block presidential candidates from their own presidential primaries on political grounds, but it is still not clear whether that principle applies to other office.

Here is the decision in Catoosa County Republican Part v Henry, S24A0917.

In 2024, as in 2012 and 2020, the Florida Secretary of State is not enforcing a 2011 law that says qualified minor parties can’t be on for President unless they are either recognized by the Federal Election Commission as a “national committee”, or unless they submit a petition of 1% of the registered voters (145,040 signatures).

This year the Secretary of State put the presidential nominees of the Socialism & Liberation Party, and the American Solidarity Party, on the ballot. Yet neither submitted a petition, and neither is recognized by the FEC as a “national committee.”

The Secretary of State did not enforce the law in 2012, because, he said, he couldn’t enforce it because he had no official knowledge of which parties are recognized by the FEC. Nor did he enforce it in 2020, when he let the Socialism & Liberation Party on. But he did enforce it in 2016, when the ballot-qualified Independent Party tried to nominate Evan McMullin.

Free & Equal will sponsor a presidential debate on Wednesday, October 23. Oliver Chase, Jill Stein, and Randall Terry will participate. The debate will be held in Hollywood, California, between 5 and 7 p.m. Pacific time.