The Massachusetts Libertarian Party is not ballot-qualified; it went off the ballot after the November 2004 election, because it didn’t poll as much as 3% for president (if there had been any other statewide offices on the ballot, the party would probably have maintained its status; but 2004 happened to be a year with no U.S. Senate election).

Therefore, the party has been circulating a statewide candidate petition, listing a stand-in presidential candidate, George Phillies, and the actual U.S. Senate candidate, Robert Underwood. The petition is due July 29 and is already over halfway done. The party used a stand-in presidential candidate so that it could get started early in the year.

The Massachusetts Election Division’s Legal Counsel wrote a letter, dated September 22, 1995, which said that stand-ins for president are permitted. This was not surprising, since Massachusetts had previously approved vice-presidential stand-ins, in 1980 for John B. Anderson’s independent candidacy. A subsequent Massachusetts Election Division’s Legal Counsel had amended the policy, in a letter to the Reform Party dated March 30, 2000. It said the stand-in had to be a bona fide presidential candidate who really was seeking the party’s nomination. It said that if that person (who had been listed on the petition) had tried and failed to get the party’s nomination at the national convention, then the party could substitute the actual presidential nominee.

In spite of these two earlier rulings, the current Massachusetts Elections Division Legal Counsel seems to be refusing the Libertarian Party’s request for substitution. The Libertarian Party is obtaining legal counsel and hopes to change the mind of the Legal Director. Otherwise, the party will sue.

Although there aren’t many legal precedents on presidential and vice-presidential substitution, they are all favorable. The Libertarian Party successfully sued Florida in 1996 in federal court over presidential substitution. John Anderson won all his lawsuits in 1980 over vice-presidential substitution.

On June 9, Illinois elections officials removed four Green Party nominees from the November ballot. They are Iain Abernathy in the 8th district, David Kalbfleisch in the 10th district, Robert Hill in the 14th district, and Troy Dennis in the 17th district. All four districts are fairly competitive between the two major parties, and all four Greens had been nominated by party meeting after the February primary was over.

Illinois regulates political parties to a great extent. The Green Party followed state law, but it supplemented state law with its own Bylaws, especially in cases in which no Greens had run for party office in the February primary in certain counties. It is not clear if the Green Party will go to court to fight for these nominees. But case law, more and more every year, establishes the right of political parties to control their own nominations process.