The Texas election law says corporations may donate money to political parties “to defray normal overhead and administrative or operating costs incurred by the party; or to administer a primary election or convention held by the party.”

In 2006, the Democratic Party nominee for Governor of Texas polled less than 30% of the total vote cast.  The Texas election law actually says that parties should be on the ballot automatically if they either got 2% for Governor at the last gubernatorial election, or 5% for any statewide race at the last election.  But imagine if the Texas election law said parties are only on the ballot automatically if they got 30% for Governor at the last gubernatorial election.

Under this imaginary scenario, the Democratic Party would have needed to petition to be on the ballot in both 2008 and 2010.  If corporations contributed to the Democratic Party for its hypothetical petition drives in 2008 and 2010, does anyone doubt that the petition drive would be considered an “operating cost”?  Obviously, a party can’t “operate” if it isn’t on the ballot.  But the Texas press, in its many articles on the subject of whether the Green Party should have been removed from the ballot this year, never actually discusses the “operating cost” phrase in the law.

The hypothetical law requiring a party to poll 30% of the gubernatorial vote in order to be on the ballot automatically is not entirely impossible.  Between 1931 and 1937, parties in Florida were only permitted to be on the ballot if they had received 30% of the vote for President at either of the two preceding presidential elections.  There is no federal lawsuit precedent invalidating any state’s requirement for what a party must do to be on the ballot automatically.  In Jenness v Fortson, the U.S. Supreme Court seemed to think that Georgia’s law (as it existed in 1971), that a party had to poll 20% for Governor, or 20% for President in the entire nation, was acceptable.

Forrest Claypool has this commentary in the Huffington Post.  He submitted 90,000 signatures to be on the ballot for Cook County Assessor as an independent.  No one challenged his petition.  He says that he is the first independent candidate on the ballot for that office since the office was made elective, 78 years ago.

He needed 25,000 signatures.  Illinois law requires district and county independent candidates to submit petitions of 5% of the last vote cast, or 25,000, whichever is less.  That law has existed since 1931, although the 25,000-signature cap has only existed since 1980.  Before 1931, the independent petition for district and county office was 2% of the last vote.

It is probably safe to say that more signatures have been collected for independent candidates in Illinois this year, and also in Georgia this year, than at any time in history.

on July 2, a lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Michigan against the $500 cap on individual contributions to candidates for State House of Representatives.  See this story.  Campaign contributions are constitutional in general, but a few years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated Vermont’s cap on contributions because it was only $200.