The Socialist Workers Party has run a presidential candidate, and placed him or her on the ballot in some states, in all elections starting in 1948. It expects to release the name of its 2008 presidential candidate in January 2008.

The Socialist Equality Party may nominate a presidential candidate. If it does so, that announcement is likely in January 2008 as well. In the past, the Socialist Equality Party has run presidential candidates in 1996 and 2004. It also ran persidential candidates under the party’s old name (Workers League) in 1992, 1988 and 1984.

Senator Chris Dodd is not on the Virginia Democratic presidential primary ballot because his circulators turned in the petition to the state Democratic Party headquarters, rather than the State Board of Elections. By the time the mistake was understood, the deadline had passed. The Dodd campaign is trying to persuade the State Board of Elections to certify him anyway. UPDATE: the post above said he turned in the signatures to the state party, but that is incorrect. His campaign turned them in to Richmond City Hall. The State Board of Elections has since denied his appeal to be on the ballot even though he had not turned in his signatures at the right location.

The lawsuit challenging Tennessee’s ballot access laws for new parties was to have been filed on December 21, but it has been postponed til next week, because the lead attorney’s output was slowed up by a power outage that lasted 5 days.