Arkansas law requires a party that wishes to be on the ballot to submit 10,000 signatures. The group chooses its own petitioning period, and the job must be done within 90 days. The Green Party starts its 2012 petition drive today, September 3. This is the fourth time the party has had to do this work. It also completed the petition in 2006, 2008, and 2010.

Each time the Green Party has been on the ballot in Arkansas, it has shown substantial voter support. Nevertheless, the law requires a party to constantly re-qualify, unless it polls 3% for the office at the top of the ticket in each election. If the party can keep up its stamina, perhaps election officials will get tired of constantly checking petitions, and the legislature may improve the law on party retention.

The only other parties that have qualified by petition in Arkansas have been the Reform Party in 1996, and the Libertarian Party earlier this year. Before 1971, parties were permitted to be on the Arkansas ballot just by being organized; no petition was needed. Parties that want to be on the ballot in Arkansas just for President don’t need to complete the 10,000-signature petition; they just need 1,000 signatures.

Starting September 9, C-SPAN will present a new series, “The Contenders”. Each of the fourteen shows will present the story of a presidential candidate who ran and lost, but who changed U.S. political history. The series includes three candidates who ran outside the major parties: Eugene Debs, George Wallace, and Ross Perot. The others in the series are Henry Clay, James G. Blaine, William Jennings Bryan, Charles E. Hughes, Al Smith, Wendell Willkie, Thomas E. Dewey, Adlai Stevenson, Barry Goldwater, Hubert Humphrey, and George McGovern. The shows will be broadcast at 8 p.m, one per week. Thanks to Jack Ross for the link.

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.