On August 2, the Peace & Freedom Party nominated Ralph Nader for president and Matt Gonzalez for vice-president. This is the first time the Peace & Freedom Party has nominated someone who is expected to be on the ballot in a majority of states, in its entire history. That history extends back to 1968.

The vote was Nader 46, Gloria La Riva 27, Brian Moore 10, Cynthia McKinney 6. Nader was nominated by Lanric “Ric” Hyland, who had also been the person who nominated Eldridge Cleaver at PFP’s first presidential convention in 1968.

Matt Gonzalez was nominated for vice-president by acclimation.

Nader is now in a good position to be on the ballot in 45 states. He is trying in all but Texas, Oklahoma, Indiana, Georgia, and North Carolina. Nader is the first caucasian male to be the presidential nominee of the Peace & Freedom Party since 1972, when Dr. Benjamin Spock was the party’s nominee.

The November 2008 California ballot will list these presidential candidates, in all probability: Bob Barr, John McCain, Cynthia McKinney, Ralph Nader, and Barack Obama. Also the ballot will contain the nominee of the American Independent Party. A lawsuit to be filed in a few days will determine whether that nominee is Chuck Baldwin or Alan Keyes.

On July 30, the Louisiana Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal of Jimmy Fahrenholtz, who wanted to run for U.S. House in the Democratic primary on September 6. The State Court of Appeals had earlier tied 4-4 on whether he should be on the ballot. The case is Williams v Fahrenholtz, 2008-ca-0961. The issue was whether a candidate for Congress can be kept off the ballot because part of his declaration of candidacy contains an untrue statement relating to whether he had any outstanding campaign finance fines or unpaid assessments.

The outcome contradicts 90 years of jurisprudence, that candidates for Congress cannot be kept off the ballot because of any crimes or punishments. The precedent is so strong, candidates for Congress have even been permitted to run from prison, or while fugitives from justice. However, in this Louisiana case, the candidate did not raise the constitutional issue at the trial court level, so the appeals courts wouldn’t fully consider it either. Thanks to Randall T. Hayes for this news. For more information, see this story.

The Behavior Research Center’s Rocky Mountain Poll released this Arizona presidential poll on August 1: McCain 43%, Obama 38%, Nader 3%, other and undecided 16%. See details here.

What is most notable about this poll is not the result, but the fact that the people who planned the poll are so ignorant about Nader’s ballot label. The third page tells us that the question for voters was, “If the 2008 election were being held today, and the candidates were John McCain, the Republican Party candidate, Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate, and Ralph Nader, the Green Party candidate, which one would you vote for?”

Cynthia McKinney will be listed on the Arizona ballot as the Green Party candidate; Ralph Nader will be listed as an independent candidate.