On October 22, the Pennsylvania Reform Party affiliated with the new nationally organized Independence Party. The Pennsylvania Reform Party had been previously unaffiliated with any national faction of the Reform Party. Thanks to Bill Van Allen for this news.
Back in 2004, Ralph Nader sued Hawaii over its ballot access laws. One part of the suit challenged the arbitrary manner in which Hawaii elections officials validate signatures, but the other part of the case challenged the constitutionality of requiring an independent presidential candidate to get almost five times as many signatures as an entire new political party. The case has been stalled for three years. Recently it was assigned to a new federal judge, Judge J. Michael Seabright. He arranged a conference on the case on October 19, so it is likely to move ahead soon. The case is called Nader v Yoshima, 04-611.
On October 22, the Executive Committee of the National Republican Committee voted to punish 5 states for choosing delegates too early. The full Republican National Committee will decide whether to implement this recommendation next month. The five state Republican Parties would lose half their delegates to the national convention, because they are choosing delegates before February 5. The five states are Wyoming, Michigan, South Carolina, Florida and New Hampshire. UPDATE: on October 23, the Republican National Committee formally approved this idea, so it is final.
Unlike the Democratic National Committee, the Republican National Committee does not give special privileges to any state party. The Democratic National Committee lets four particular states (New Hampshire, Iowa, Nevada and South Carolina) choose delegates earlier than February 5. Thanks to Thomas Jones for this news.
Any reader of this blog who is sympathetic to the fight to improve ballot access laws may wish to help either or both of these veteran ballot access volunteer attorneys:
1. Bob Bastress, a law professor at the University of West Virginia, is running for Justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court. The election is partisan, and his toughest challenge will be winning the May 2008 Democratic primary. Bastress has won many ballot access lawsuits over the past 27 years against repressive West Virginia laws. He has never charged for his legal services, and he has represented the Libertarian Party, the Constitution Party, and the Green Party, among others. Anyone is permitted to contribute up to $1,000. If you wish to help, send a check to Bastress for Justice, PO Box 4, Morgantown WV 26507.
2. Gary Sinawski, who has won more constitutional ballot access lawsuits than any other attorney in the nation in the last 25 years, is seriously ill. If you wish to send a get-well card, or extend any good wishes, he is in Lenox Hill Hospital, Room 919, Lachman Bldg., 100 E. 77th St., New York NY 10021.
Bob Bauer, an expert on campaign finance laws and a critic of those laws, has written this in his blog More Soft Money Hard Law. It deals with the interplay between Stephen Colbert’s candidacy in the South Carolina major party presidential primaries, and federal campaign finance restrictions.
