Capital University Law Review, fall 2006, Volume 35, #1, has just published an article by Law Professor Mark R. Brown, calling for an end to the challenge system of checking petitions. The article is titled, “Policing Ballot Access: Lessons from Nader’s 2004 Run for President.” The article is 81 pages long. Capital University is in Columbus, Ohio.

The “challenge system” is not used in most states. Most states provide that elections officials check the validity of petitions, and their decision is final. A minority of states, however, use the “challenge system.” Petitions are deemed to be valid, but any private individual or group is then free to “challenge” the petition and attempt to show that it lacks enough valid signatures. Brown’s article shows the deficiencies of this system. The article is also useful for documenting the history of most of Nader’s 2004 ballot access fights.

Preliminary returns show these percentages for each of the 12 presidential candidates, in the French election of April 22:
1. Union for a Popular Movement 30.46%
2. Socialist Party 24.41%
3. Union for French Democracy 18.8%
4. National Front 11.1%
5. Revolutionary Communist League 4.3%
6. Movement for France 2.5%
7. Communist Party 2.0%
8. Green Party 1.6%
9. Workers’ Struggle 1.5%
10. Jose Bove (independent anti-globalization) 1.3%
11. Hunting, Fishing, Nature & Traditions 1.2%
12. Workers’ Party .3%

Thanks to Jack Ross for this data.

On April 20, the Georgia Senate passed HB 487, which moves the presidential primary from March to February 5. The primary for other office would remain in August. Since the Governor is expected to sign the bill, Georgia will probably be the fourth state this year to have moved its presidential primary to February (the others, where the move has already been signed into law, are California, New Jersey, and New York). Bills to do the same are pending in many other states. Thanks to Tony Roza for this news.