June 27 is the petition deadline for newly-qualifying parties and independent candidates in New Mexico. The Free New Mexico Party expects to qualify. It is affiliated with the national Libertarian Party.
There is already a ballot-qualified Libertarian Party on the New Mexico ballot, but it is no longer affiliated with the national Libertarian Party.
On June 26, the North Carolina State Board of Elections voted 3-2 to postpone deciding whether three new parties should be on the ballot. The three parties are the Justice for All Party (which supports Cornel West for president), We the People Party (which supports Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., for president) and the Constitution Party.
Another meeting will be held July 9, Tuesday.
The Board votes were all 3-2, with the two Republican members voting to approve all three parties. The three Democratic members said they are concerned that the Constitution Party petition lists the party’s address on the petition instead of the address of the state chair. The three Democrats said that they feel the other two party petitions might have tricked some voters into signing.
The county boards have determined that all three petitions have enough valid signatures. In 2022, when the State Board refused to approve the Green Party petition even though the county boards said it had enough signatures, the Green Party sued in federal court and forced the state to put it on the ballot. One of the two Republicans said that the state board is likely to get sued again.
On June 26, the Eleventh Circuit issued an opinion in Greater Birmingham Ministries v Merrill, 22-13708. It says Alabama is required to produce a list of individuals who were denied the ability to register to vote because of a felony conviction, and a list of voters who were removed from the rolls because of a felony conviction. The decision is by Judge Britt Grant, a Trump appointee; and is also signed by Frank Hull, a Clinton appointee, and Nancy Abudu, a Biden appointee.
The majority said Alabama can charge for the list, but Judge Abudu dissented on that point.
The basis for the decision is the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.
On August 5, the Fifth Circuit will hear Miller v Doe, 23-50537, the case over Texas ballot access laws for independent candidates and newly-qualifying parties. The lower court had upheld all those laws except it had struck down the ban on electronic signatures. Both sides are appealing.
On May 28, Andrew W. Bell asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his case over Georgia’s lack of due process when it checks the validity of independent candidate petitions. Bell v Rafflesperger, 23-7684. Here is his cert petition. He submitted approximately 2,000 signatures in 2020 when trying to run for the State House, but election officials said only about 700 were valid, and gave him no opportunity to contest that ruling.
