Independent American Party May Win Nevada Legislative Seat

Posted on by August 21, 2010
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Janine Hansen, long-time activist in Nevada’s Independent American Party, has a very strong campaign for Assembly in Nevada’s 33rd district.  She has been endorsed by some leading figures in the Republican Party.  The district is centered on Elko, in northeast Nevada.  Last week the Elko daily newspaper featured a front-page story about her campaign.  Also see this story in Chuck Muth’s Nevada News and Views.  Hansen has both a Democratic and a Republican opponent.

The Independent American Party won two partisan county offices in Nevada in 2008.  No minor party has elected anyone to the Nevada legislature since 1914, although on two occasions, Libertarians have exceeded 40% in two-candidate Assembly races in Nevada.

Socialist Party on Ballot in Vermont for First Time Since 1952

Posted on by August 21, 2010
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The Socialist Party has petitioned onto the Vermont ballot this year.  It is the first time since 1952 that the Socialist Party has appeared on the Vermont ballot.  The seven statewide nominees each needed 500 signatures, and they gathered them successfully.

This year’s Socialist Party nominees in Vermont are also the nominees of the Liberty Union Party.  They will appear on the November ballot with their names, followed by “Liberty Union/Socialist.”  The voters will not be able to choose which party label to support.

Various Socialist Party presidential nominees have appeared on the Vermont ballot in recent years, but in each case it is because the Liberty Union Party, a ballot-qualified party since the 1970’s, nominated them.  These past Socialist Party presidential nominees in Vermont only had the ballot label “Liberty Union.”

Although many people commonly refer to Vermont’s U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders as a socialist, his ballot label, in all the years in which he was elected, has been “independent.”

Working Families Party of New York Won’t Face Federal Charges

Posted on by August 21, 2010
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The U.S. Department of Justice will not file any charges against the Working Families Party of New York.  The party had faced the possibility that it broke campaign finance laws by its close relationship with a company that runs campaigns.  See this New York Times story.  The story also mentions the continuing uncertainty as to whether Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo will accept the cross-endorsement of the Working Families Party.

Green Party Success in Australia Election

Posted on by August 21, 2010
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Australia held a parliamentary election on August 21.  Although all the votes are not counted yet, it appears the neither major party won a majority in either house.

The House has 150 seats.  The tentative results are:  Labour 72, Liberal 72, Green 1, and 4 independents, with one seat too close to call.  Assuming the Greens do win that one seat, it will be the first time in history they have won a seat in the lower house.  This story describes the 4 independents and the one Green elected to the House.  The Green, Adam Bandt, was elected from Melbourne.  Australia uses a system very similar to Instant-Runoff Voting for House elections.  This story shows how that system made it possible for Bandt to win.

In the Senate, which is elected somewhat proportinately, the Greens may also have the balance of power.  See this story.  Greens already had five Senators and they may have eight Senators when all the votes are counted.