Utah is one of the 12 states that lets state income taxpayers choose to assist a particular political party, by checking a box on the state income tax form. The Utah Constitution Party was the only third party on the 2007 income tax form, because it was the only third party that had polled enough votes in 2006 to be on the ballot automatically in 2008. Other parties could have been listed on the 2007 income tax form if they had been quick to re-qualify, but the Libertarian Party didn’t finish its petition in time to be on the income tax form, and the Green Party, and the Personal Choice Party, didn’t do the party petition for 2008 at all.

The Constitution Party received $3,685 in tax returns that have arrived this year so far (in other words, 3,685 taxpayers checked the box for the Constitution Party). By contrast, on the income tax forms that arrived at the equivalent month in 2007, the Constitution Party received $2,740. So, being the only minor party on the form was somewhat helpful to the Constitution Party, but not as much as one might have expected. The Personal Choice Party had received $6,042 on tax returns that arrived in 2007, even though it had been one of six parties on the form.

The October 1 Ballot Access News (paper edition) will have this year’s data for all political parties, for all states that have a tax check-off for political parties.

Anthony Pollina won enough write-ins in the September 9 Vermont primary to become the Progressive Party’s gubernatorial nominee. The law requires write-in winners to receive at least 250 write-ins, and he won more than that. However, he still declined the nomination. He will be on the ballot only as an independent, even though he is a recent former state chair of the Progressive Party.

Although a poll earlier this month showed him at only 7%, since then he has won the endorsement of the AFL-CIO, the teachers union, and the state employees union.

Vermont’s Democratic member of the U.S. House, Peter Welch, won the Republican nomination by write-in votes. He received 600 write-ins in the Republican primary. No Republican appeared on the Republican primary ballot for that office. Welch will accept the Republican nomination, so he will be listed in November as “Democratic, Republican.”

On September 19, a U.S. District Court in Montana held a trial in Kelly v Johnson, the challenge to the March petition deadline for non-presidential independent candidate petitions. Another round of briefs will be filed by September 22.