Oklahomans for Ballot Access Reform (OBAR) will hold a press conference at 2:00 pm on Friday, September 14 in the State Capitol, after filing the group’s initiative with state elections officials. The initiative will ask the voters if they want to ease the ballot access laws. If the initiative succeeds, all states will have some means for a presidential candidate to get on the November ballot by a showing of support that is below, or at, 2% of the last vote cast.

This will have been the first time that all states have some procedure for president that is below, or at 2%, since 1931. For the first time, there would be no truly impossible states for a minor party or independent presidential candidate. The Oklahoma initiative is of the highest importance. Please consider a generous donation to OBAR, PO Box 14042, Tulsa Ok 74159-1042. The national Libertarian Party’s national fundraising letter for this project has arrived in mail boxes all across the U.S. The Green Party’s national ballot access committee has pledged a donation “in four figures” (i.e., between $1,000 and $9,999). I have just mailed a donation of $5,000, which is 25% of my annual income.

Twentynine states ask voters, on voter registration forms, to choose a political party. The paper edition of Ballot Access News periodically includes voter registration data by party. One of the most interesting new registration tallies is coming up soon in California. The data should be available on September 24, 2007. This data, showing how many registered voters there are in each political party and also in each group that is trying to become a political party, will include Unity08.

Several months ago, Unity08 asked California elections officials to keep track of its registrants. Unity08 has not yet been actively working to increase its registration. If it wishes to be a qualified party in California, it must have 88,991 members by December 31, 2007.

The Federal Election Commission’s book of 2006 election returns, called Federal Elections 2006, is now in print. It is free and can be obtained by calling the FEC at 800-424-9530. It is the most elaborate election returns book the FEC has ever published. Like the earlier books in the series, it has election returns for both primaries and the general election. It has tables showing the vote for each house of Congress, nationwide, by party (except that it only has “Democratic” “Republican” and “other” compilations).

Unlike previous volumes, this one has 7 color maps of the U.S. that illustrate various points about the election. For example, one map gives a clear picture of which states had U.S. House districts that shifted from Republican to Democratic, and how many in each state. Another map shows which states had all incumbents re-elected.