Hawaii Redesigns Primary Voting System

Posted on by August 21, 2008
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Hawaii holds an open primary on September 20, a Saturday. The state has an open primary system. Traditionally, Hawaii has printed primary ballots for each party, and given a complete set of primary ballots to each voter. The voter decides in the privacy of the voting booth which party’s primary ballot to use, and throws away the ballots of the other parties.

This year, only one primary ballot will be printed. At the top, the voter will be asked which party’s primary is desired. Then, the vote-counting machines will only accept votes cast in that particular party. If a voter happens to vote for candidates in both the Democratic and Republican primaries, the machine will only count the votes that were cast in the party that the voter had chosen at the top of the ballot. Thanks to Thomas Jones for this news.

Some major party leaders are worried that voters will choose the “Independent Party” choice at the top of the ballot. The Independent Party was placed on the ballot to get Ralph Nader on the November ballot, for president. However, the Independent Party does have two candidates running for the state legislature, but since each is unopposed in his own district, the Independent Party primary will not be very exciting. Nevertheless, if a voter chooses “Independent Party” at the top of the primary ballot, and then votes for various Democrats or Republicans, his or her vote won’t count.

Ralph Nader’s ballot access lawsuit against Hawaii from 2004 is still pending in the 9th circuit. It argues that the state cannot require six times more signatures for an independent presidential candidate than an entire new party. In some preliminary meditation talks, Hawaii elections officials said they are considering asking the legislature to reduce the number of signatures for independent presidential candidates. If Hawaii had made such a change before 2008, it wouldn’t be faced with the problem of having an “Independent Party” on the primary ballot.

FEC Lets McCain Withdraw his Primary Season Matching Funds Request

Posted on by August 21, 2008
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On August 21, the Federal Election Commission unanimously voted to let John McCain withdraw his application for primary season matching funds. However, the Commission also rebutted McCain’s argument that he didn’t need the FEC’s permission to withdraw that application.

McCain had applied for primary season matching funds in 2007, and the FEC had ruled that he had qualified. McCain used that determination to obtain a place on the Republican presidential primary ballots in Delaware and Ohio. Without the certification that he had qualified for the funds, he would have needed to circulate petitions in those two states. However, McCain never took the money.

If the FEC had ruled that he could not withdraw, he would then have been in violation of the law, since he has spent far more than permitted for candidates who accept primary season matching funds. Thanks to ElectionLawBlog for this news.

Robert Bernhoft Will Argue for Chuck Baldwin in California Court

Posted on by August 21, 2008
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Robert Bernhoft will argue on behalf of Chuck Baldwin, in the California case over who should be listed on the ballot as the presidential nominee of the American Independent Party. Bernhoft is the senior partner at the Bernhoft law firm. That firm last month won Ralph Nader’s ballot access case against Arizona in the 9th circuit. The firm also gathered publicity earlier in the year, when it saved movie actor Wesley Snipes from a severe criminal penalty in a case prosecuted by the Internal Revenue Service.

The hearing will be August 26, at 9:00 am, in Sacramento Superior Court, 720 9th St. in downtown Sacramento. The case is King v Bowen.

Socialist Party Put on Ohio Ballot by Federal Court

Posted on by August 21, 2008
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On August 21, U.S. District Court Judge Edmund Sargus issued an order putting the Socialist Party on the Ohio ballot. Specifically, Brian Moore for president and Stewart Alexander for vice-president will be listed on the November ballot with “Socialist” next to their names. Moore v Brunner, 2:08cv-224.

The Ohio Green Party knows about this decision and hopes to gain the same sort of relief for itself.

Judge Sargus said about the Socialist Party, “The Court finds that the Socialist Party USA has the requisite community support to be placed on the ballot in Ohio based on the following undisputed facts in the parties’ memoranda. Socialist Party USA has a century-long history of involvement in presidential politics. The party held its last bienniel convention in St. Louis, Missouri, in October 2007, at which time it nominated Moore and Alexander as its candidates. Socialist Party candidates appeared on the ballot in 8 states in the 2004 presidential election, and garnered 10,822 votes nationwide. For the upcoming 2008 election, plaintiffs Moore and Alexander have currently qualified in Vermont, New Jersey and Colorado and are actively seeking ballot access in 18 other states, including Ohio. As for a showing of support in Ohio, the Socialist Party has ‘an active state affiliate in Ohio with a Charter and state officers” since at least 1999. The party has gathered several thousand signatures of Ohio residents.”

This is the first time the Socialist Party has ever won a ballot access lawsuit in federal court. The party won many ballot access lawsuits in state courts, in the period 1900-1948. The party also won a federal lawsuit in Iowa in the 1980’s, to win the right of its members to serve as deputy registrars of voters, but that was not a ballot access case.