A Vermont gubernatorial debate was held in Burlington on the evening of October 27. Republican incumbent Governor Jim Douglas surprised everyone by not showing up. The debate went on without him. Participants were Anthony Pollina (independent, endorsed by the Progressive Party), Gaye Symington (Democratic nominee) and Peter Diamondstone (Liberty Union nominee). There are three other candidates on the ballot, all independents, who were not invited. See this article for more details about Douglas’s non-appearance.

This year, 23 presidential candidates are on the ballot in at least one state. That is the highest in U.S. history except for 1992, when there were also 23. Generally there are more such candidates in periods of great public unhappiness.

Here is a list, with the predominant party label for each, and the percentage of the voters that will see their names on the ballot:

Barack Obama, Democratic, 100.0%
John McCain, Republican, 100.0%
Bob Barr, Libertarian, 94.5%
Ralph Nader, independent, 85.2%
Cynthia McKinney, Green, 70.5%
Chuck Baldwin, Constitution, 59.8%
Gloria La Riva, Socialism and Liberation, 26.8%
Roger Calero or his stand-in James Harris, Socialist Workers, 25.0%
Brian Moore, Socialist, 21.5%
Alan Keyes, America’s Independent Party, 18.1%
Charles Jay, Boston Tea, 10.0%
Gene Amondson, Prohibition, 9.6%
Thomas Robert Stevens, Objectivist, 8.0%
Richard Duncan, independent, 4.6%
John Joseph Polachek, New, 4.3%
Jeffrey Boss, Vote Here, 3.0%
Jeffrey Wamboldt, We the People, 2.5%
Ron Paul, Taxpayers/Constitution, 2.0%
Jonathan E. Allen, HeartQuake ’08, 1.7%
Bradford Lyttle, U.S. Pacifist, 1.7%
Frank McEnulty, unaffiliated, 1.7%
Ted Weill, Reform, .9%
George Phillies, Libertarian, .6%

On October 27, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that Dwayne Dobbins should not be on the November ballot as the Democratic nominee for state rep, district. Dobbins v Arkansas Democratic Party, 08-1225. The Court did not reach the merits, but said he had waited too long to complaint, and that he should have objected within 20 days after the party ruled against him. He filed his lawsuit on October 10. Here is the 5-page decision.

This news means that the Green Party nominee, Richard Carroll, is the only name on the ballot, although two write-in candidates are running against him.