On August 19, the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. circuit, issued an order postponing the briefing schedule in Libertarian Party v D.C. Board of Elections, 11-7029, to see if the case might be settled by mediation. This is the lawsuit over whether the District of Columbia Board of Elections should count write-ins for declared write-in presidential candidates. If mediation does not resolve the dispute, the opening brief will be due October 28, 2011.
Kentucky elects its statewide state offices in November of the odd years before presidential elections. This year, the Kentucky ballot will include one independent candidate for Governor, Gatewood Galbraith; and one Libertarian Party nominee for Treasurer, Ken Moellman. Each needed at least 5,000 valid signatures. Galbraith submitted 7,496; Moellman submitted 8,100. Both petitions have been approved.
This is the first time the Libertarian Party has ever been on the Kentucky ballot for a statewide office, in a non-presidential year. Neither the Green Party nor the Constitution Party has ever been on the statewide Kentucky ballot in a non-presidential year. There were no independent or minor party candidates on the Kentucky statewide ballot in 2007, nor in 2003.
All four states holding gubernatorial elections this year have at least one minor party or independent candidate on the ballot for Governor. The other states with gubernatorial elections this year are West Virginia, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
On August 15, the California Assembly passed SB 448 by a vote of 51-27. All Democrats who voted, voted “Yes”, although Democratic Assemblymembers Bob Blumenfield and Susan Bonilla did not vote. All of the “no” votes were Republicans. The bill requires petitioners to wear a badge that says “Paid Circulator” if that circulator is being paid. The bill no longer requires unpaid circulators to wear any badge, and the bill no longer requires the circulator’s badge to say if that circulator is registered to vote, and, if so, where.
The bill now returns to the Senate for concurrence in the Assembly amendments. The bill does not pertain to circulators who are working on a petition to get a candidate or a party on the ballot. Thanks to Ballot News for this news.
On August 17, the California Assembly Appropriations Committee passed SB 205 by a party-line vote of 12-5. All Democrats voted “yes” and all Republicans voted “no.” The bill makes it illegal to pay registration workers on a per-registration card basis, “directly or indirectly.” The bill now goes to the Assembly floor.
According to this story, New Hampshire Republican Party state chairman Jack Kimball is being threatened with removal, just because he signed the petition to put the Libertarian Party on the ballot in 2012.
The attackers are confusing signing a ballot access petition for a newly-qualifying party with an endorsement of that newly-qualifying party. The meaning of a signature on a ballot access petition was explained well by U.S. District Court Judge Philip Pratt, a Nixon appointee, in Hall v Austin, 495 F.Supp.782 (eastern district of Michigan, 1980). He said a petition measures “whether there is enough support for placing a given candidate on the ballot, not whether there is enough support for electing the candidate. A large segment of the public may be determined never to vote for the candidate yet may wish to see them on the ballot and support their efforts to get on the ballot.” Thanks to Eric Dondero for the link.
