New York Libertarians Lose Ballot Status for Suffolk County Slate on a Technicality

Posted on by October 6, 2009
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On October 6, a New York Superior Court in Suffolk County, New York, ruled that the lawsuit Kosin v Geier should be dismissed. This means that none of the Libertarian candidates for county office in that county will be on the November 3, 2009 ballot. The case was dismissed because the Libertarian Party plaintiffs failed to serve notice of the lawsuit on one of the people who had challenged the party’s petition.

As a result, the voters of Suffolk County will only have one candidate to vote for, in all the races for countywide executive positions. The five qualified parties of New York state all agreed to support all of the incumbents who are running for re-election, so all the races are one-candidate elections.

New York Democratic Party May Be Left With No Nominees for Supreme Court Justice in Part of the State

Posted on by October 6, 2009
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New York state elects Supreme Court Justices by popular vote, in partisan races, in November of all calendar years. In New York, the Supreme Court is not the highest court; it is a trial court where cases begin. The state is divided into twelve districts for the purpose of electing Supreme Court Justices.

According to this newspaper story, a challenge to the Democratic Party’s judicial nominees in the 5th district will be heard by a Supreme Court Justice sometime this week. The challenger argues that the Democratic Party’s convention, held to choose nominees, broke the election law and that the nominees should be removed from the ballot. The 5th district includes Syracuse and the surrounding area.

Keyes Faction of American Independent Party Files Paperwork in Court Case Over Who are Legitimate Party Officers

Posted on by October 6, 2009
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On October 5, paperwork on behalf of the Alan Keyes faction of the American Independent Party was filed in the lawsuit King v Robinson, pending in California Superior Court in Solano County. The lawsuit had been filed by the faction of the AIP that is loyal to the national Constitution Party, back on March 16, 2009. The case had been stalled ever since, because the Keyes faction had been ducking service, but the response shows that both sides are now entered into the case. The purpose of the lawsuit is to determine who the proper state party officers are. In 2008, rival state conventions had been held, and the California Secretary of State had recognized the Keyes faction. Consequently, she placed Alan Keyes on the November 2008 ballot instead of Chuck Baldwin.

New Alaska Voter Registration Data

Posted on by October 6, 2009
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The Alaska Elections Division posts new registration data every month. The October 3 tally shows that the Libertarian Party and the Alaskan Independence Party are the only two parties to have increased their share of the state’s registration in the last month. The percentage of people registered as independents, and the percentage of people in each of the major parties, declined slightly.

The Libertarian Party will lose its place on the ballot unless it has at least 9,786 registrants by the spring of 2010. The October 3 tally shows that it has 8,565 registrants, compared to 7,859 a month ago.

The October 3 percentages are: Republican 25.98%, Democratic 15.54%, Alaskan Independence 2.79%, Libertarian 1.77%, Republican Moderate Party .64%, Green .52%, Veterans .37%, independents 52.39%. The Republican Moderate Party, the Green Party, and the Veterans Party, are not ballot-qualified, but the state tallies them because they have said they desire to qualify.

The September 3 percentages were: Republican 26.01%, Democratic 15.60%, Alaskan Independence 2.78%, Libertarian 1.63%, Republican Moderate Party .64%, Green .53%, Veterans .37%, independent 52.45%.

New Jersey Newspaper Publicizes Bad Ballot Design of New Jersey Ballots

Posted on by October 5, 2009
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The Press of Atlantic City, the leading daily newspaper in southeastern New Jersey, has this story in its October 5 edition about New Jersey ballot design. The issue is getting press attention because Chris Daggett as well as the New Jersey Libertarian gubernatorial candidate, Ken Kaplan, filed a lawsuit over that ballot design last month.