In 2006, Ohio’s procedure by which political parties get on the ballot was held unconstitutional. Almost three years have passed, and no bill has been introduced to write a new law to replace the old void one.

Under a federal court decision won by the Ohio Libertarian Party in 2008, as long as there is no valid ballot access law in place, the state cannot keep any party off the ballot, if it can show that it has a modicum of support. As a result, it is growing increasingly likely that the Libertarian, Green, Constitution and Socialist Parties will remain on the ballot automatically in 2010. Because Ohio’s Constitution requires all qualified political parties to nominate by primary, and because Ohio has its primary in May in 2010, even if the legislature passed a bill in early 2010, it could not impose requirements that would be in effect in 2010.

The Ohio legislature is still in session, but as soon as it passes a budget bill, it will recess for the summer, but will return in the autumn of 2009.

Proponents of the California ballot question to impose a “top-two” election system have been quoted in many mainstream news media organizations recently. These spokespeople repeat over and over that California’s state government leadership problems are caused by politicians who are too ideological. The advocates of “top-two” say that their election system would result in a different kind of candidate being put in office.

Ironically, however, the proponents never remind people that each of the last two governors of California was initially elected in their type of system. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected for the first time in 2003, in a special election at which all voters received the same ballot, with all candidates listed on the ballot. And previous Governor Gray Davis was elected for the first time in 1998, when California was using the “blanket primary”, another system in which all voters receive identical primary ballots, ballots that list all candidates for the office from all political parties.

Proponents of “top-two” seem to have succeeded in their desire to have “top-two” labeled as an “open primary”. Definitions in this area are hopelessly confused. Most proponents of “top-two” say it is legitimate for them to label “top-two” as an “open primary”, because they say that “open primary” means any system in which independents can vote in the primaries. However, it is already the case that independents in California may vote in the major party primaries in 2010.

Free & Equal, and ReTea Party, are jointly sponsoring a rally in Chicago on July 4 to highlight speakers who are concerned about election law problems in Illinois and the United States. See this list of speakers. The rally is at Gateway Park at Navy Pier between noon and 4 p.m. Among the speakers are Theresa Amato, author of “Grand Illusion: The Myth of Voter Choice in a Two-Party Tyranny”; Paul Jacob, head of Citizens in Charge (an organization trying to expand the initiative process); and Christina Tobin, founder of Free & Equal.