Marakay Rogers, the Libertarian nominee for Judge of the Pennsylvania Superior Court, received 8.03% of the vote on November 3. This is the highest percentage of the vote cast for a minor party statewide nominee in Pennsylvania since 1998, when Peg Luksik got 10.44% for Governor as the Constitution Party nominee (back then, the Constitution Party’s national name was the U.S. Taxpayers Party, but in Pennsylvania the name was “Constitutional”).

Under Pennsylvania law, votes are immaterial for determining whether a party is ballot-qualified for all partisan nominees. A party must have registration membership of 15% of the state total to place its nominees on the ballot (other than in special elections) without a large petition.

Because Pennsylvania’s turnout on November 3, 2009, seems to have been unusually low, it is likely that the number of signatures needed for statewide minor party and independent nominees in 2010 will only be about 20,000 signatures. In 2008 it had been 24,666. The 2010 requirement will be 2% of the highest vote-getting statewide candidate’s vote. That appears to be the vote for Sallie Mundy, a Republican nominee for Judge of the Superior Court. Preliminary election returns show her with 932,558 votes. Assuming that rises to 1,000,000 by the time all votes are counted, the petition requirement in 2010 will be 20,000 signatures. See here for the Pennsylvania Elections Divisions unofficial vote returns page.

Jefferson County, New York, which is on Lake Ontario, has been represented by a Republican in the U.S. House starting with the 1854 election, the year the Republican Party was born. However, as a result of the November 3, 2009, special election in the 23rd district, Jefferson County will be represented by Bill Owens, the Democratic nominee who appears to have won.

Jefferson County’s largest city is Watertown. In the 1852 election, Jefferson County had been its own U.S. House district, and had elected an Independent to the U.S. House. Jefferson County hadn’t been represented by a Democrat in the U.S. House since a Democrat, Willard Ives, won the 1850 election in that part of New York.

Ironically, the new Congressman in the 23rd district, Owens, is a registered independent, even though he was the Democratic nominee.

The New Jersey gubernatorial returns are: Chris Christie (Republican) 48.8%, Jon Corzine (Democratic) 44.6%, Chris Daggett (independent) 5.7%, others on the ballot, not yet broken down, .9%. Daggett is the first person to run for Governor of New Jersey in November, who was not a Democratic or Republican nominee, to have exceeded 5% of the vote, since 1913.

In 1913, Progressive Party nominee Everett Colby polled 11.0%. Before that, no one had polled 5% for Governor of New Jersey other than the major party nominees since 1886, when the Prohibition Party’s Clinton Fisk polled 8.6%.

The 2009 election produced the lowest percentage of the vote for a Democratic nominee for New Jersey Governor since 1985.