The Louisiana hearing concluded at 3:30 p.m. central time (see previous blog post). The judge said he will rule at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 23.
Reply
A U.S. District Court in Louisiana is holding an extensive trial in the ballot access case for the Libertarian and Socialist Party presidential candidates. It convened at 10 a.m., went on for two hours, and has recessed for lunch. It reconvenes at 1:30 central time. Brian Moore, the Socialist Party’s presidential candidate, is one of the witnesses. He was on the stand for almost an hour, in the morning. The Libertarian Party also has witnesses, including the state chair, Adrien Monteleone. The state is fighting this case very hard, and has seven attorneys present.
The issue is whether to set aside the September 2 deadline for filing the paperwork for presidential and vice-presidential candidates. The Governor had issued a directive, not only postponing the congressional primary, but pushing back all deadlines that occurred the week of September 1-5, due to the storms.
The Blue Enigma Party became ballot-qualified in Delaware last month. It was formed in 2006. It needed 284 registered members in order to qualify this year, and managed to obtain 292. It is not running any candidates for federal office, but it has candidates for state office. Specifically, has nominees for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and three State House districts. The party’s webpage is http://theblueenigmaparty.com. The gubernatorial candidate, Jeffrey Brown, is a 37-year-old bartender in a sports bar. The party’s first platform plank calls for increasing the number of teachers.
Brown is the only ballot-listed gubernatorial candidate, other than the Democratic and Republican nominees. He says his campaign’s number one goal is to help teachers.
Gene Amondson, presidential candidate of the Prohibition Party, is on the ballot for the 2008 election in states that cast 9.6% of the national popular vote in 2004. Although 9.6% is modest, it is the best showing for that party since 1976.
Alan Keyes, presidential candidate of America’s Independent Party, is only on the ballot in three states. But two of those states, California and Florida, are very populous. The third state in which Keyes is on is Colorado. He is on the ballot in states that cast 18.1% of the national popular vote in 2004.