Attorneys for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have filed this brief in the First Circuit, in Barr v Galvin. The issue is whether states must let unqualified parties use a stand-in presidential candidate on their ballot access petitions. In 2008 the Libertarian Party won injunctive relief in this case, and in 2009 it won declaratory relief, in the U.S. District Court. The state is appealing.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger now acknowledges that Thursday’s Assembly vote on whether Abel Maldonado should be confirmed as Lieutenant Governor was, at best, too ambiguous for any action. He will re-submit Maldonado’s nomination, which gives the legislature another 90 days to act on it. In the meantime, Maldonado will remain as a State Senator.
On February 1, when Delaware’s HB 245 was signed into law, the Green, Constitution, Working Families, and Socialist Workers Parties ceased to be ballot-qualified in Delaware. The law went into effect immediately and set the number of registered voters at approximately 600 members. The old law required approximately 300.
Of course, those parties do have an opportunity to get back on the ballot, by obtaining new registrations between now and August. However, because there is case law that it violates due process for states to increase ballot access requirements in the middle of campaign season, the Delaware Election Commissioner has asked her legal counsel to help her decide whether she should implement the new law immediately, or whether implementation should be postponed until 2011.
According to this Arkansas politics blog, the Constitution Party is making plans to attempt to get itself on the ballot in 2010. The law requires 10,000 signatures, to be collected in any 3 months of the party’s choosing, but the signatures are due in July if the party wants to have candidates in 2010. Apparently the party is eager to run someone for Governor. Thanks to Bill Van Allen for the link.
The only minor parties that have been on the ballot in Arkansas (other than for President, which is easier) in the last 45 years have been the Green Party, the Reform Party, and the American Party. Arkansas is the only state in the nation in which no Libertarian has ever been on the ballot for a partisan office, other than President.
On February 11, the Florida Supreme Court issued its opinion in Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections v Browning, SC07-2074. The Court said that if a single county in Florida wants to have a local law saying vote-counting machines must have a paper trail, the county can do that. Earlier, the State Court of Appeals had ruled against Sarasota County, saying the county is not free to ban such machines. But the Supreme Court reversed the lower court.
