The Coalition for Free & Open Elections (COFOE) is holding its annual Board meeting in New York city on March 2, at 1 pm. COFOE is a loose coalition of the nation’s nationally-organized minor parties, and other nationally-organized groups that agree with COFOE’s goals of easing ballot access laws and improving the climate for minor parties and independent candidates in other areas, such as debates.

Several lawsuits against repressive ballot access laws are likely to be filed in February and March, some of them with financial support from COFOE, others not. They include a lawsuit to be filed against the Ohio law that bans circulators for independent candidates unless the circulators are registered voters in Ohio; a lawsuit against Illinois law on the number of signatures for unqualified parties and independent candidates for US House; a similar lawsuit for independent candidates for US House in North Carolina; a similar lawsuit for independent candidates for US House in Alabama; a lawsuit against New Hampshire’s refusal to permit presidential substitution; and a lawsuit against the new March petition deadline for independent candidates (for office other than president) in Montana.

The Washington State House Government Committee holds a hearing on HB 1534 on February 7, at 6 p.m. This is the bill to improve ballot access for minor parties and independent candidates. It would permit an unqualified party to petition for a place on the ballot (with 1,000 signatures) before it has chosen its nominees. Once on the ballot, it would then nominate by convention.

It would also ease petition requirements for independent candidates, and let independent candidates choose a partisan label (that could not mimic the name of a qualified party) which would be printed on the November ballot.

One minor party activist, who is with the Progressive Party, is not satisfied with these improvements, and is threatening to testify against the bill. Since the committee members had previously said that they will not pass this bill unless all minor party witnesses are in favor of it, the bill is in danger unless this person is mollified. The dissatisfied Progressive Party activist wants the bill to allow for qualification of parties on a district-by-district basis. There is little practical advantage to making that change, since the bill’s draft would allow a party that doesn’t wish to qualify statewide to still appear on the November ballot, under the procedures for partisan labels for independent candidates.

Louisiana will hold two special U.S. House elections, to fill vacancies, either on April 5 or May 3. Filing has closed.

The First District seat is vacant because the former Congressman, Bobby Jindal, was elected Governor last year. That race will feature a Republican, a Democrat, an independent (R. A. “Skip” Galan), and Anthony Gentile, who is state chair of the Independent American Party. The two major party nominees will be chosen in March in a semi-closed primary.

The Sixth District seat is vacant because the former Congressman, Richard Baker, resigned to take a job in the hedge fund industry. It will feature a Republican, a Democrat, a Constitution Party member, and two independents. The Constitution Party member is Randall T. Hayes. The two independents are Peter Aranyosi and Ashley Casey.

Although Louisiana recognizes the Green, Libertarian and Reform Parties, and holds primaries for them, no one from those parties filed. Since the Constitution Party is not ballot-qualified, Hayes may not have “Constitution Party” on the ballot next to his name; instead he will be labeled an “other” candidate. Similarly, for the First District race, Anthony Gentile may not have “Independent American Party” next to his name since his party is not ballot-qualified either.