Ralph Nader has this essay in the weekend edition of Counterpunch (Dec. 19-21). The essay criticizes Scholastic Magazine’s policy of distributing sample ballots and educational material that include Democratic and Republican nominees, but exclude all others. Although Scholastic Magazine is private, its material is distributed in public schools.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation ran a presidential candidate for the first time in 2008, Gloria La Riva. She appeared on the ballot in states containing 26.4% of the presidential vote. In those states, she polled .02% of the total presidential vote.
On December 19, President George W. Bush signed Senate Joint Resolution 46, which lowers the salary of the Secretary of State from $191,300 to $186,600. SJR 46 had been introduced in the U.S. Senate on December 10, and it passed unanimously that same day. The House passed it unanimously on December 12. The reason for the bill is that Article I, section 6, says that no member of Congress may take an office if the salary for that office had been increased while that individual was in Congress. Senator Hillary Clinton was in Congress when the Secretary of State’s salary was increased in 2007.
SJR 46 acknowledges that some do not believe that lowering the salary is sufficient to make Hillary Clinton eligible to be Secretary of State. It says that if anyone sues, a 3-judge U.S. District Court should handle the case, and that any appeal should go immediately to the U.S. Supreme Court. To read the bill, go to http://thomas.loc.gov and enter SJR 46. That website does not seem to permit links from sites such as this.
In 2004, the Socialist Party presidential nominee, Walt Brown, appeared on the ballot in states containing 20.5% of the presidential vote that year. He polled .04% in the states in which he was on the ballot.
In 2008, the Socialist Party presidential nominee, Brian Moore, appeared on the ballot in states containing 21.2% of the presidential vote. He polled .02% in the states in which he was on the ballot.
In 2004, the Socialist Workers Party presidential candidate, Roger Calero, or his stand-in, James Harris, appeared on the ballot in jurisdictions containing 27.2% of the presidential vote cast that year. The party received .03% of the vote in the places in which it appeared on the ballot.
In 2008, the Socialist Workers Party had the same presidential candidate, as well as the same stand-in (the party needs a stand-in when Calero runs, since he is not eligible to be president and therefore some states won’t print his name on the ballot). The 2008 SWP ticket appeared in places that cast 24.7% of the national presidential vote. The 2008 ticket polled .02% of the vote cast in the places where it was on the ballot. The vote total, 7,561, is the second lowest presidential total in the party’s history; only 2000 was lower.
