Connecticut Supreme Court Reverses Lower Court, Says Secretary of State Can’t Run for Attorney General

Posted on by May 18, 2010
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On May 18, the Connecticut Supreme Court heard arguments in the case over whether Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz is eligible to run for Attorney General. The Court heard arguments, and then ruled from the bench that she is not eligible. UPDATE: here is the Court’s one-page order.

It is virtually unheard of for any State Supreme Court to ever issue a ruling on the day it hears the argument. See this story. The Court’s opinion is not written yet. It appears that Bysiewicz lost on both arguments. First she argued that she is in compliance with a state law that says Attorney General candidates must have been actively practicing law for the past ten years. Then, alternatively, she argued that even if she does not meet that requirement, the law is unconstitutional because it adds to the qualifications contained in the State Constitution for Attorney General. But apparently neither argument worked. Thanks to Gene Berkman for this news.

Delaware Election Commissioner is Asking Legislature to Postpone Effective Date of New, Tougher Ballot Access Law

Posted on by May 18, 2010
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Delaware is the only state in which the sole determinant of whether a party is ballot-qualified is how many registered voters it has. Delaware created this system in 1978, and said any party with registration membership of one-twentieth of 1% is ballot-qualified. Vote returns are irrelevant.

Early this year, Delaware changed the requirement from one-twentieth of 1% to one-tenth of 1%, and made it effective immediately. Now the Commissioner of Elections, cognizant that it is not easy for a qualified minor party to double in size in a matter of months, has asked the legislature to pass a bill, effective immediately, to postpone the new tougher requirement until 2011. Generally the Delaware legislature follows the recommendations of the Elections Commissioner, on election law matters.

Delaware has severe restrictions on the ability of voters to change parties during an election year. The restrictions on voters changing parties are more severe than any other state except New York.

Among the parties that want to participate in this year’s election, the Constitution Party is most severely disadvantaged by the new requirement, because it is smaller than the other active minor parties.

U.S. Supreme Court Sets Conference Date for Two Ballot Access Cases

Posted on by May 18, 2010
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On June 3, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether to hear the pending Alabama and Louisiana ballot access cases. The Alabama case is Shugart v Chapman, and the Louisiana case is Libertarian Party v Dardenne. The Court won’t reveal what it has decided until Monday, June 7.

The issue in the Alabama case is whether it is constitutional for a state to require more signatures for an office in just part of the state, than for a statewide office. Alabama requires more signatures for an independent candidate for U.S. House (in some districts) than it does for an independent candidate for President. Alabama has 7 U.S. House districts.

The issue in the Louisiana case is whether the Secretary of State had the authority to re-set the deadline for parties to submit their presidential elector paperwork, a deadline that was earlier than a similar deadline set by the Governor. The Libertarian, Socialist and Reform Parties were all kept off the ballot for President, even though they complied with the gubernatorial deadline. They did not comply with the Secretary of State’s deadline. Both officials set deadlines that varied from the statutory requirement because severe storms prevented many groups from complying with the statutory deadline. Even the major parties did not comply with the statutory deadline.

Oklahoma Ballot Access Bill Gets Boost

Posted on by May 18, 2010
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Oklahoma Representative Chris Benge (R-Tulsa), speaker of the House, has recently said that he supports HB 1072, the ballot access reform bill. This development makes it fairly likely that the bill will pass before the legislature adjourns at the end of May.

The bill passed both houses of the legislature last year, but the two versions differ. The bill has been in a conference committee ever since. The final version of the bill is yet to be determined, but there is some reason to believe it will require 10,000 valid signatures for a new party, which is far better than the existing requirement of 73,134 valid signatures.

Vermont Progressive Party Fills Statewide Slate for State Office

Posted on by May 17, 2010
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On May 15, leaders of the Vermont Progressive Party met and endorsed a full slate in the party’s primary for the six state statewide offices. They are: Governor Martha Abbott; Lieutenant Governor Marjorie Power; Secretary of State Peter Cooper; Attorney General Charlotte Dennett; Treasurer Don Schramm; Auditor Michael Bayer.

The party nominated a full slate to make it less likely that any non-members might seize one of the party’s nominations with write-in votes in the party’s primary. The party may possibly withdraw some of these candidates after the August 24 primary is over, depending on which Democrats win the primary and what their positions on issues are. See the party’s web page here for more information.