Green Party Watch reports that the Illinois Green Party has asked all its members and supporters to telephone or e-mail their state legislators, asking those legislators to sustain Governor Pat Quinn’s veto of HB 723. That is the bill that makes it more difficult for ballot-qualified parties to nominate candidates. The Illinois Green Party is the only ballot-qualified party statewide in Illinois, other than the Democratic and Repujblican Parties.
The New York Times has a very comprehensive account of the first general election Mayoral debate in New York city this year. Read from the bottom up. Only candidates who had raised at least $50,000 were invited to debate, so only Mayor Bloomberg and the Democratic nominee, Bill Thompson, were invited. The article says that Green Party nominee Billy Talen heckled the Mayor, and a commenter says Talen was then ejected. The commenter says two supporters of Francesca Villar, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, were also ejected.
The New York Times has a very comprehensive account of the first general election Mayoral debate in New York city this year. Read from the bottom up. Only candidates who had raised at least $50,000 were invited to debate, so only Mayor Bloomberg and the Democratic nominee, Bill Thompson, were invited. The article says that Green Party nominee Billy Talen heckled the Mayor, and a commenter says Talen was then ejected. The commenter says two supporters of Francesca Villar, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, were also ejected.
On October 13, Tennessee held a special election to fill the vacant State House seat, 62nd district. The results: Republican 55.7%, Democratic 41.4%, Constitution 2.9%. When this seat was up in 2008, the vote had been: Democratic 55.0%, Republican 45.0%.
The Constitution Party nominee, Chris Brown, was on the ballot as an independent, because Tennessee laws on how minor parties get on the ballot are so restrictive, no new or minor party has qualified for the ballot since 1968.
On October 13, Ralph Nader filed his brief in the 9th circuit in Nader v Cronin, 08-16444. The case challenges the number of signatures needed for an independent presidential candidate in Hawaii, which is approximately 6 times as many signatures as are needed for an entire new party (which is entitled to its own primary, and the ability to run a nominee for every partisan office in the state).
This is the only constitutional ballot access case still pending in any court that was filed in 2004. It was delayed for years because the U.S. District Court was waiting for the State Supreme Court to rule on some of the issues in the case.
