On August 13, 2007, John McCain filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission, to establish his interest in receiving primary season matching funds. Later he demonstrated that he had qualified (by raising more than $5,000 from each of 20 states). However, he never accepted primary season funds. If he had received them, he would have been required to limit his spending during the primary season (which runs all the way until September 1, 2008) to $56,757,500.

On February 25, 2008, the Democratic National Committee filed a complaint against McCain with the Federal Election Commission, charging him with violating the federal campaign finance law. Specifically, the Democrats complained that McCain had spent more than $56,757,500. Although the Democrats agree that McCain never actually took primary season matching funds, they argue that since he benefited from being eligible for the funds, and since the FEC never voted to release him from the primary season matching funds program, therefore he ought to obey the spending limit. The benefits McCain received from being eligible for primary season matching funds were that he was put on the presidential primary in Delaware and Ohio automatically (otherwise he would have needed petitions). Also the Democrats say that McCain received a bank loan based on his eligibility, although this is disputed.

On April 14, the Democratic National Committee sued the FEC, because the FEC had taken no action on the Democratic complaint. But on May 14, U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates dismissed the lawsuit, because no one is permitted to sue the FEC until 120 days after filing the original complaint with the FEC. Now, on June 24, the 120 days are up, so the Democratic National Committee has re-filed. The case is again assigned to Judge Bates. The case is Democratic National Committee v FEC, 1:08-cv-1083, in Washington, D.C. Judge Bates is a Bush Jr. appointee.

The North Carolina Libertarian Party recently nominated some more candidates for Congress and state office. Among the nominees is Timothy Rohr, a city councilmember in Lenoir. He is running for state representative in the 87th district. See this newspaper story.

The complete list of Libertarian nominees for North Carolina office will be final on June 30. The list will include a U.S. Senate nominee.

Green Party Watch recently said that the U.S. Constitution forbids a party from running a candidate for president and a candidate for vice-president who are both from the same state. This is a common misconception.

The 12th Amendment says that a presidential elector can’t vote for someone for president and someone else for vice-president, if both candidates are from that elector’s home state. So, the only barrier is that the electors from one particular state can’t vote for such a team. Electors in the other 49 states are free to vote for a team in which both members are from the same state.

Also, the ban only applies to residence in December of the presidential election, the month when the electors vote. So if a minor party did carry the state in which both the president and vice-president live, the electors are still free to vote for that team if either the presidential candidate, or the vice-presidential candidate, moves out of that state before the mid-December date when the electors vote.

George W. Bush and Dick Cheney both lived in Texas when they were nominated in 2000, but Cheney switched his residence to Wyoming, so that the Bush-Cheney ticket was able to receive the votes of the Texas electors.

In the past, the Socialist Workers Party frequently nominated two New Yorkers, one for president and one for vice-president. The party’s national office has always been in New York and it was usually more convenient to the party to have both candidates living in New York. Challenges to the party’s ballot position in New York were made on the basis of residence, but the New York State Courts always upheld the SWP’s ballot position.