Tentative Ohio Ruling in Now Final; Ohio Has 6 Political Parties on 2010 Ballot

Posted on by December 31, 2009
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On December 31, an earlier Ohio Secretary of State ruling on ballot-qualified parties for the 2010 election was officially promulgated to county election boards in Ohio. The ruling says that the Constitution, Green, Libertarian and Socialist Parties are ballot-qualified in Ohio in 2010. Some time ago, the Secretary of State had posted this ruling on her web page, and no one made any negative comments, or comments as to why the tentative ruling should be reversed. The comment period is now over. The ruling is now final.

The four minor parties must nominate any 2010 candidates in their own primary. Candidates for statewide office in the primary of any of these parties need 500 signatures. Candidates for district and county office need 25 signatures. Signatures are due in February. The primary is in May.

The Ohio Constitution says all ballot-qualified parties must nominate by primary. Ohio and Oklahoma are the only states that have state constitutional provisions that require all parties to nominate by primary. Most states let small or new qualified parties nominate by convention. Allowing newly qualifying parties to nominate by convention allows for later petition deadlines for new parties, and also saves tax money.

Ohio still doesn’t have any valid election law to determine which parties are ballot-qualified. The 6th circuit invalidated the old laws in 2006 and the legislature has not replaced them. One bill, HB 260, would revise the laws, but it has not passed the State Senate. There is no bill pending that would revise the State Constitutional provision about mandatory primaries for all parties. Thanks to Kevin Knedler for the news about the final status of the Secretary of State’s ruling.

New York Times Says Every New York State Legislator Should Be Defeated in 2010

Posted on by December 31, 2009
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The New York Times has this editorial in its December 31 issue, recommending that voters in 2010 defeat every single New York state legislator. Unlike most states, New York State Senators only have two-year terms, so all of them are up in 2010, along with all the New York Assemblymembers as well.

The editorial also calls on the legislature to create a nonpartisan commission to draw the district boundaries of the legislative districts, but the editorial points out that many voices have been saying this in New York for many years, and no legislator is even talking about the idea.

The New York Times ought to be consistent and call for the statewide initiative to be implemented in New York, because so many of the reforms that the newspaper advocates have no chance without the initiative process.

Seattle Times Story on U.S. Supreme Court Involvement in Petition Secrecy Case

Posted on by December 30, 2009
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The December 30 Seattle Times has this story about the upcoming decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, on the petition privacy case, Doe v Reed. The upcoming decision is whether that court will take the case. If the court declines to hear the case, the names and addresses of everyone who signed the Washington state referendum on civil unions will then immediately be released to the public.

Republican Party Decision to Hold Primary for U.S. House in one Virginia District Gets Criticism for Spending Tax Dollars

Posted on by December 30, 2009
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Recently the Virginia Republican Party decided to hold a 2010 primary to choose its nominee for the U.S. House, 5th district. The 5th district seat was won by Democrats in 2008 in a very narrow race. The November 2008 vote was: Democrat Tom Perriello 158,810 votes, Republican Virgil Good 158,083 votes.

Now the Republican Party’s decision to use a primary instead of a convention is getting criticism from people who say it will cost the taxpayers $260,000. Virginia has no U.S. Senate race in 2010, and no state offices up in 2010, so there can only be primaries in 2010 for U.S. House, and partisan county office. If the Republicans had chosen a convention instead of a primary for the U.S. House in this district, elections officials inside the 5th district would mostly not need to hold any primary. See this story.

Virginia could save much more money if it would move its state elections to even-numbered years. Because federal elections are in even years, Virginia holds elections every year, for either federal office or state office. Other states that hold some or all statewide state elections in odd years are New Jersey, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania.

Initiative Filed in Burlington, Vermont, to Repeal Instant Runoff Voting

Posted on by December 30, 2009
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According to this story, a city initiative has just been filed in Burlington, Vermont, to ask the voters if they wish to repeal Instant Runoff Voting. Earlier this year, the Progressive Party had won the Mayor’s race (Burlington has partisan city elections), even though the Democratic Party nominee had been expected to win. That caused some Burlington voters to dislike IRV.