South Carolina permits fusion for all office. For president, South Carolina has used fusion in 1972 (when George McGovern was listed as the Democratic nominee and the United Citizens nominee) and in 1996 (when Ross Perot was listed as the Reform nominee and the Patriot nominee).

In 2008, it is possible that Barack Obama might be listed four times. He is almost certain to be the nominee of the Democratic, Working Families, and United Citizens Parties. The Independence Party is also considering nominating him. If this happens, it would be the first time in the history of government-printed ballots that any presidential candidate was listed as the nominee of four parties.

The last time any presidential nominee was listed as many as three times in any state was in New York in 2000, when Al Gore was listed as the nominee of the Democratic, Liberal, and Working Families Parties.

According to the Washington Secretary of State’s webpage, the only candidate who filed for State Rep., 37th district, place 2, is Ruth Bennett of the Libertarian Party. The Secretary of State’s office is now closed, so it is impossible to verify for sure that the webpage is completely up-to-date. However, all day long, the office seems to have done a good job of posting candidates as they file. UPDATE: incumbent Eric Pettigrew’s name is now (as of 6 pm) listed on the webpage.

Pennsylvania State Representative Kerry Benninghoff kindly telephoned today to say he will introduce his ballot access reform bill this year. He expects to be re-elected and he will also introduce it next year, since it seems unlikely to pass this year. The bill will eliminate mandatory ballot access petitions for all candidates, those seeking access in a primary as well as those petitioning for a spot on the November ballot.