The Libertarian Party of New Mexico has collected 6,800 signatures on its petition to get back on the ballot. Since 3,872 are required, this is probably enough. This is the first petition drive the Libertarian Party has completed anywhere in the U.S. in a year. By contrast, the Green Party has completed two during the last year (Louisiana and Utah).
Gloria Mattera, Green Party nominee for Boro President of Brooklyn, has almost raised the needed $50,000 in small donations needed for her to qualify for public campaign funds. If she succeeds, she will receive $200,000. For more information, see www.electgloria.org.
On October 20, a lower state court in North Carolina refused to order Libertarian Party nominees for city office onto the November 8, 2005 ballots. The judge did not explain his decision. A trial will be held next year in this same case, on whether the North Carolina ballot access laws for new parties violate the state Constitution.
On October 18, a lower New Hampshire state court upheld the law that gives the party that polled the most votes the top row (or the left-hand column) on the ballot. Akins v Secretary of State of New Hampshire, Merrimack Co., 04-E-360. The judge acknowledged that having the best spot on the ballot does help the party that enjoys that position, but still declined to require a random procedure to determine which party gets the best position.
The law that gives the best spot on the ballot to the party that polled the most votes, doesn’t specify which office. Therefore, the state adds up the vote for each party, for all the partisan offices on the ballot. The law has existed since 1994 and has always meant that Republicans get the best spot on the ballot.
On October 18, a U.S. District Court judge in Georgia enjoined the state from enforcing its new law, requiring voters who vote at the polls to show a government-issued photo ID. The injunction is 124 pages long and seems to be based on the 24th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which forbids a poll tax or “any tax”. Georgia state ID costs $20. The state says it exempts the indigent, but the 24th amendment applies to all voters, not just indigents. Common Cause v Billups, 4:05-cv-201-HLM. If the ruling is not reversed on appeal, it may eventually have positive implications for states that require large filing fees (with no alternate means to get on the ballot) for all candidates except “paupers”.
