All three of New York’s ballot-qualified minor parties cross-endorsed a major party presidential candidate this year. Here are the percentages of the vote received by each of those parties, for the office at the top of the ticket (President in presidential years, and Governor in mid-term years) for the last six elections:

Conservative Party: 1998 7.36%; 2000 2.12%; 2002 3.86%; 2004 2.10%; 2006 3.80%; 2008 2.24%.

Independence Party: 1998 7.69%; 2000 .36%; 2002 14.28%; 2004 1.14%; 2006 4.30%; 2008 2.15%.

Working Families Party: 1998 1.08%; 2000 1.30%; 2002 1.98%; 2004 1.81%; 2006 3.50%; 2008 2.09%.

During these years, the Conservative Party has always cross-endorsed the Republican nominee for the office at the top of the ballot, and the Working Families Party has always cross-endorsed the Democratic nominee for the top office. Therefore, their percentages are fairly stable. Both of them did slightly better in 2008 than they had done in 2004.

The Independence Party always nominated someone for the topmost office who was not a major party nominee, during the period up until 2006. But in 2006 it cross-endorsed the Democratic nominee, and in 2008 the Republican nominee.

The Vermont Secretary of State’s office says that Cynthia McKinney received 66 write-in votes for president. Vermont does not require presidential write-in candidates to file a declaration of candidacy, but in the past the office has not been willing to tally these write-ins. Instead that office has simply invited any member of the public who wants to know, to visit the office and examine the results from the town clerks. However, this year, the office did its own tally for McKinney. Since the office did its own tally, it is “official” and these votes will be included in publications that make a record of the national vote totals, such as Congressional Quarterly’s America Votes.

Judicial Watch believes that Article I, section 6 of the U.S. Constitution makes it impossible for Senator Hillary Clinton to be appointed Secretary of State. Article I, section 6 says, “No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time.”

The salary of the Secretary of State has been increased since Senator Clinton has been in the U.S. Senate. Judicial Watch hopes to bring a lawsuit, and is searching for a plaintiff who will have standing.

This issue came up during the Nixon administration. When Nixon appointed U.S. Senator William Saxbe to be Attorney General, Congress passed a bill lowering the Attorney General’s salary back to what it had been. Apparently no one sued to block the Saxbe appointment. Judicial Watch says that the plain meaning of the words in the Constitution do not permit such a “fix”.