On April 10, Missouri SB 797 passed the House Elections Committee unanimously. Now it goes to the House Rules Committee. It has already passed the Senate. This is the only bill in any state legislature in the United States, that improves ballot access for minor parties and independent candidates, that has made any progress in 2008.
On March 25, Alabama Representative Cam Ward introduced HB 738. It lowers the non-presidential independent petition from 3% of the last gubernatorial vote, to 1.5% of the last gubernatorial vote cast. The presidential independent petition (a flat 5,000 signatures) would not be affected by the bill. Representative Ward is a Republican representing Bibb and Shelby Counties.
Alabama has the nation’s highest petition requirement for non-presidential statewide independent candidates in the nation. It is the only state above 2% of the last vote cast, for non-presidential statewide independents. Thanks to Mike Rster for this news.
On April 10, Chuck Baldwin said he will seek the presidential nomination of the Constitution Party. He lives in Florida and was the party’s vice-presidential nominee in 2004. The Constitution Party national convention is April 23-26.
2008 is a historic year for suspenseful national conventions. As of today, no one knows for sure who will be nominated for president by the Democratic Party, the Libertarian Party, the Green Party, and the Constitution Party.
On April 9, U.S. District Court Judge Stefan Underhill held a scheduling hearing in Green Party of Connecticut v Garfield. This is the case against the parts of the Connecticut public funding law that discriminates against independent candidates and new and minor parties. The Judge indicated that there is no need for a trial. Instead, the case will proceed with briefs and affidavits. The Green Party’s brief for summary judgment will be filed in mid-May. The Judge indicated that he is likely to hold the law unconstitutional, but that he would stay his own ruling, so that the program will be used in this year’s election.
The Saginaw News of April 8 has this editorial, praising the U.S. District Court decision last month that struck down a law that discriminates against minor parties, on the question of which parties can get a list of presidential primary voters. The editorial also criticizes, by name, the 4 Michigan Supreme Court Justices who had earlier ruled that the law is constitutional. And the editorial praises the American Civil Liberties Union for bringing the case on behalf of the Michigan Green, Libertarian and Reform Parties.
The ACLU has become the foremost defender of minor parties in court. In the last four years it has filed lawsuits on behalf of minor parties in Arkansas, Connecticut, Iowa, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, and New Mexico. Also it intervened helpfully in the pending North Carolina ballot access lawsuit.
