Cynthia McKinney Names V-P Running Mate

Posted on by July 9, 2008
Reply

On July 9, the news leaked out that Cynthia McKinney’s choice for the Green Party vice-presidential nomination is Rosa Clemente, 35, of New York. See here for more about her. Zentronix blog says that the McKinney-Clemente ticket would be the first in U.S. history of two women of color. However, in 1992, the New Alliance Party ticket was Lenora Fulani and Maria Elizabeth Munoz. Also in 1996, the Workers World Party ticket was Monica Moorhead and Gloria La Riva.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has this article about the McKinney campaign. Even though it was published on July 9, it doesn’t contain the news about Rosa Clemente. Instead it says the announcement about a vice-presidential candidate will come on July 11.

Thanks to IndependentPoliticalReport for the news.

9th Circuit Hears Case on Due Process for Checking Signatures

Posted on by July 9, 2008
Reply

On July 8, the 9th circuit heard oral arguments in Lemons v Bradbury, 08-35209, over whether the U.S. Constitution protects the right of a petition signer to have his or her signature count, if indeed the petitioner is eligible to sign. The case arose in Oregon and concerns an initiative petition. The 9th circuit panel said it would rule by the end of July, since the initiative sponsors hope to have it on the November ballot. Here is an account of the oral argument, which was held in Portland.

Constitution Party Candidate for Ohio Attorney General is Certified for the Ballot

Posted on by July 9, 2008
Reply

On July 9, Robert Owens, Constitution Party nominee for Ohio Attorney General, was certified for the November 2008 ballot, as an independent candidate. Ohio is holding a special election for that office because the incumbent elected in 2006 resigned a few months ago. The law required Owens to submit 750 valid signatures. He was given only 10 days to collect them. The state took two months to check the petitions.

It is conceivable that someone will challenge Owens’ position on the ballot, since he voted in the March 2008 Republican primary. Ohio does not have registration by party, but Ohio elections officials keep a record of which party’s primary ballot a voter chooses.

Just in case Owens is challenged, he filed a federal lawsuit on July 9 arguing that it would violate the U.S. Constitution for Ohio to keep him off the ballot just because he voted in the Republican primary. Ohio has no law that says an independent must not have voted in a primary. It does have a vague law that says an independent must not be “affiliated” with a qualified political party. That law was upheld in Morrison v Colley, but in that case, the independent candidate had run for party office in a partisan primary, which is different than just voting in a party primary. The new case filed by Owens is Constitution Party of Ohio v Brunner, 2:08-cv-666. If Owens is not challenged, he will dismiss the lawsuit.

Huge Ballot Access Victory in 9th Circuit

Posted on by July 9, 2008
Reply

On July 9, the 9th circuit struck down two Arizona ballot access restrictions: (1) an independent presidential petition deadline in early June; (2) a law that out-of-state residents may not circulate petitions in Arizona. The case is Nader v Brewer, 06-16251.

The vote was 3-0. The decision striking down the ban on out-of-state circulators, by its logic, would apply to any type of petition. Judge Mary M. Schroeder wrote the opinion.

The decision might have an impact on the 2008 election. It may make it possible for Chuck Baldwin (Constitution Party presidential candidate) to qualify in Arizona. He would need 21,759 valid signatures by mid-August.

The decision will help the proposed Oklahoma ballot access case soon to be filed by Bob Barr, and it also makes it more likely that the pending ACLU lawsuit against Montana’s March petition deadline (for office other than president) will win.