On October 6, the First Circuit (headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts) issued a ruling in Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party v Dalmau, 07-2700. It is somewhat of an oddity that the First Circuit includes Puerto Rico, since the other areas within the First Circuit are four New England states.

The new First Circuit decision reinstates a federal lawsuit filed by the Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party in 2007. That lawsuit alleges that the Puerto Rico Election Commission knowingly aided a fraudulent petition in late 2004 on behalf of the Puerto Rican Independence Party.

Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico became a qualified party for the first time in 2007, after struggling mightily to collect 116,000 signatures and have them validated. The law required 97,000 signatures (5% of the last gubernatorial vote). Another unqualified party, the Civil Action Party, had won a landmark federal case in the First Circuit invalidating a Puerto Rican law that no one but an attorney who is also a notary public can circulate petitions to put a new party on the ballot. After that case was won, the Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico party finally established itself as a qualified party, after years of struggle.

In the meantime, the Puerto Rican Independence Party had failed to poll 5% of the gubernatorial vote in 2004, so it had gone off the ballot. It had only polled 2.7% of the gubernatorial vote in 2004. Puerto Rico law lets the three largest parties each have an officer on the Electoral Commission. The lawsuit alleges that the Electoral Commission used its access to the list of registered voters to help the Puerto Rican Independence Party petition to regain qualified status, even to the extent of forging 43,000 signatures in a single weekend (November 12-14, 2004) during which the weather was so stormy that a state of emergency was in effect.

If the Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party succeeds in having the Puerto Rican Independence Party knocked off the ballot, then the Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party can claim one of the three posts on the Electoral Commission. Also, the Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party alleges that its petitioning efforts were hampered in the period 2005-2007 because it lost almost 7,000 signatures of people who had already signed for the Puerto Rican Independence Party.

The U.S. District Court had refused to adjudicate the dispute, claiming that it had no jurisdiction, but now the case returns to that court.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will hear the case that is meant to remove Bob Barr from the ballot, during the week of October 6-10. Here is the brief filed on behalf of Barr. Check back to learn the exact day of the hearing, and perhaps to find a link to the other side’s brief. UPDATE: the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will almost certainly decide the case on the briefs, with no oral argument. Here is the Republican Party’s brief.

This year, the Libertarian Party has 127 nominees for U.S. House on the ballot, compared to only 114 in 2006.

Also this year, the Green Party has 58 nominees for U.S. House on the ballot, compared to 45 in 2006.

The major parties have about the same number of nominees this year as they did in 2006. The Democrats have 421 this year, compared to 426 in 2006. The Republicans have 393 this year, compared to 392 in 2006.

The Constitution Party has 24 nominees this year, compared to 28 in 2006. The only other party that has nominees for U.S. House on the ballot in more than a single state is the Socialist Workers Party, which has 3 nominees this year (one each in Iowa, New Jersey, and New York).