Ever since November 2000, the Mountain Party has been the only ballot-qualified party in West Virginia, other than the Democratic and Republican Parties. It has run for state office and ran a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2006, but it has never run a presidential candidate.

On July 8, at its state convention, it voted to become the West Virginia affiliate of the Green Party. There still remains the formality that the national Green Party must accept the Mountain Party, but it is extremely likely that the national party will gladly do so. That will increase the number of states in which the Green Party (by whatever name) is ballot-qualified, from 19 states, to 20 states, the party’s first increase in 2007.

On July 8, peace activist Cindy Sheehan told the Associated Press that she may run for U.S. House in California’s 8th district as an independent. The incumbent is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Sheehan said she will run unless Pelosi files articles of impeachment against President Bush by July 23. If Sheehan runs, she will need 10,198 valid signatures to be collected between April 2008 and August 2008. She must take care not to be registered as a member of a qualified party at any time in the period October 2007 through August 2008. California election law does not permit anyone to become an independent candidate (for office other than president) if that person has been member of a qualified party during the 13 months before an election.

If she does run and if she does get on the ballot, she would be the first independent candidate for U.S. House from California since 1996, when Steven Wheeler ran in the San Luis Obispo County district against Andrea Seastrand and Walter Capps. Wheeler only got 4.0%.

The U.S. Supreme Court has set October 1, the first day of the new court season, to hear Washington v Washington Republican Party, no. 06-730. This is the case over whether states may use “top-two” primaries in conjunction with party labels on ballots. A “top-two” primary is very common for non-partisan elections around the U.S. Every voter gets the same primary ballot, and that ballot lists all candidates. A run-off between the top two vote-getters is then held.

Washington state law says that this type of primary should be used for all elections, except presidential elections. The Democratic, Republican and Libertarian Parties sued shortly after this law was passed in 2004. The parties argue that if Washington state is going to use this type of primary, it must leave party labels off the ballot. The U.S. District Court, and the 9th circuit, agreed with the political parties.