Florida Secretary of State Asks Republican Party to Choose a New Nominee in State Senate, 12th District

Posted on by October 20, 2010
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On October 20, the Florida Secretary of State asked the Republican Party to choose a new nominee for the State Senate, 12th district.  See this story.  Jim Norman’s name will be on the ballot as the Republican nominee, and no one else’s name will be on the ballot.  But the polling places will have signs explaining that a vote for Jim Norman will be treated as a vote for whomever the party nominates.

There is write-in space on the ballot, but only two declared write-in candidates will have their write-ins counted.

Last week a state court had ruled that Norman is not eligible to be a candidate, because he broke campaign finance laws.  Norman is appealing, and if the Appeals Court reverses the lower court, presumably the votes cast for Norman will then be treated as votes for him.

In the opinion of Ballot Access News, this particular election is a sham election.  If Florida had wise procedures, anyone should be permitted to file as a declared write-in candidate this week, so that the election would give voters a real choice.  UPDATE:  this article reveals that the Republican Party has contributed substantially to help Norman pay his attorneys.

Link to Texas Gubernatorial Debate

Posted on by October 20, 2010
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See here for a link to the October 19 Texas gubernatorial debate.  The entire hour-long debate is there, in twelve separate segments.  The participants were Bill White, the Democrat; Kathie Glass, the Libertarian; and Deb Shafto, the Green Party nominee.  Republican nominee Rick Perry refused to participate because Bill White has not released some of his income tax returns to the public.

Colorado Newspaper Feature Story on Kathleen Curry

Posted on by October 20, 2010
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The Glenwood Springs, Colorado daily newspaper, the Post Independent, has this story about Kathleen Curry, Colorado’s only independent state legislator who is running for re-election as a write-in candidate.  At the end of the story, Curry says if she is re-elected, she plans to introduce a bill for better treatment of independent and minor party candidates.  She means she intends to introduce a bill to revise the discriminatory campaign finance law.  Current Colorado law lets individuals contribute twice as much money to a candidate who is nominated by primary, relative to candidates who get nominated either by party convention or by petition.

82% of Voters Will See at least One Libertarian on their Ballots

Posted on by October 19, 2010
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There is at least one Libertarian on the ballot across the U.S, in areas containing 81.9% of the voters, for the November 2010 election.  The Libertarian Party, as is usual in midterm years, is on the ballot in more places than any other minor party.

For 2010, the equivalent percentages for other leading minor parties are:  Green, 54.6%; Constitution, 39.0%; Working Families, 8.8%.  Of course, most of the Working Families Party nominees are also Democratic Party nominees.

Also, 7.3% of the voters will see a candidate on the ballot with the Tea Party label, but there is no nationally-organized political party with that name.  Voters will see the Tea Party label in Florida, Nevada, and in a single U.S. House district in New Jersey.  And, 9.5% of voters will see an Independence Party nominee on their ballots, but there is no national political party with that name, just three particular state parties in Minnesota, New York, and South Carolina.