North Carolina Ballot Access Hearing Goes Well

Posted on by January 30, 2008
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On January 30, a state court in North Carolina heard oral arguments in the ballot access case filed in 2005 by the Libertarian Party (the Green Party joined into this case in 2007).
The judge said there is need for a trial, to obtain more facts.

That trial will probably be in March. It is encouraging that the judge wants a trial, because it indicates he is the type of judge who will be influenced by actual evidence. Furthermore, he seemed to be leaning toward the view that there is no state interest in requiring more than 10,000 or so signatures for a new party to get on the ballot. Thanks to Sean Haugh for this report.

Major Candidates’ Vote Totals So Far

Posted on by January 30, 2008
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Given Rudy Giuliani’s withdrawal, there are only 7 major party presidential candidates remaining who have had the organizational strength to qualify for all presidential primary ballots they wished to be on. Adding up the votes from the four states that have held presidential primaries yields these totals:

Republicans: McCain 1,182,765; Romney 1,073,491; Huckabee 557,138; Paul 150,518.

Democrats: Clinton 1,435,440; Obama 967,577; Edwards 390,062.

Note that this compilation only includes presidential primaries, not caucuses. Also note that there were also 237,558 votes in the Michigan Democratic primary for “uncommitted”, and that Edwards and Obama chose not to be on the Michigan ballot. Clinton’s national primary total without Michigan is 1,107,916.

Clinton has renewed her call for the Democratic national convention to seat delegates from Michigan and Florida. UPDATE: press reports say Edwards will also withdraw on January 30.

Major Candidates' Vote Totals So Far

Posted on by January 30, 2008
Reply

Given Rudy Giuliani’s withdrawal, there are only 7 major party presidential candidates remaining who have had the organizational strength to qualify for all presidential primary ballots they wished to be on. Adding up the votes from the four states that have held presidential primaries yields these totals:

Republicans: McCain 1,182,765; Romney 1,073,491; Huckabee 557,138; Paul 150,518.

Democrats: Clinton 1,435,440; Obama 967,577; Edwards 390,062.

Note that this compilation only includes presidential primaries, not caucuses. Also note that there were also 237,558 votes in the Michigan Democratic primary for “uncommitted”, and that Edwards and Obama chose not to be on the Michigan ballot. Clinton’s national primary total without Michigan is 1,107,916.

Clinton has renewed her call for the Democratic national convention to seat delegates from Michigan and Florida. UPDATE: press reports say Edwards will also withdraw on January 30.

New York State Board of Elections Wants 3 Republicans Removed from Primary Ballot; New York City Board Rebels

Posted on by January 29, 2008
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On January 28, the New York State Board of Elections voted to remove Duncan Hunter, Fred Thompson, and Alan Keyes from the Republican presidential primary ballot. The stated reason is that Hunter and Thompson have withdrawn, and that Alan Keyes didn’t submit a slate of delegates.

However, many observers feel the real reason is to put Rudy Giuliani in a more favorable position on the Republican ballot. The candidates are listed in random order. Ron Paul won the drawing for top spot; Giuliani won the 4th spot. But if Hunter, Thompson and Keyes were removed, Giuliani would then be in the 2nd spot.

The New York City Board of Elections is refusing to alter the Republican ballot within New York city. It argues that the order of the State Board is invalid, because it argues that the State Board had no quorum. See this story for more details.