On October 25, Ralph Nader released this statement:  “Christina Tobin as Secretary of State of California will give more voices and choices to millions of California voters who think the ‘two-party dictatorship’ is monopolizing the ballot line against third party and independent candidates.”  Tobin is on the California ballot as the Libertarian nominee for Secretary of State.  During the first half of 2010 she was instrumental in putting up the leading web page in opposition to Proposition 14.  She also organized press conferences and protests against Proposition 14.  That measure, the “top-two” idea, in practice, leaves general election ballots with virtually no one on the ballot except Democratic and Republican candidates.

Tobin also is active organizing inclusive debates, and has organized six such debates this year.  She also organized the only general election presidential debate of 2008 that included any of the non-Democratic, non-Republican presidential candidates who were on the ballot in enough states to be elected.  That debate was between Ralph Nader and Chuck Baldwin.  She organized a similar vice-presidential debate, between Matt Gonzalez, Wayne Allyn Root, and Darrell Castle.

U.S. District Court Judge Raymond J. Dearie, a Reagan appointee, will hold another hearing in Credico v New York State Board of Elections on Tuesday, October 26, at 3 p.m.  This is the case over whether Randy Credico should be listed twice on the New York state ballot as a candidate for U.S. Senate.  Judge Dearie issued a 10-page memorandum on October 25 and found that New York state lacks any rational reason whatsover to treat Credico differently than someone who is the nominee of two qualified parties.  But he stayed his own order until the October 26 hearing.

The memo says that printing Credico’s name on the ballot only once is not a severe burden.  But it also says that the claimed state interest in not listing him in both columns (or rows, depending on whether one is talking of the New York city ballot or the ballot in the remainder of the state) is non-existent.  The memo says the two parties each have their own line on the ballot anyway, so to refuse to list Credico in both lines is “absurd” and will cause voter confusion.

The purpose of the October 26 hearing is to see if it is true that it is impossible to give relief this election year, due to the fact that the election is only one week away.