A few weeks ago, the Arkansas Attorney General issued an opinion denying that it is legal for parties to circulate a petition during odd years. However, the Secretary of State’s legal advisor says that the Secretary of State does not agree with that opinion, and will not follow it.
A few weeks ago, the Arkansas Attorney General issued an opinion denying that it is legal for parties to circulate a petition during odd years. However, the Secretary of State’s legal advisor says that the Secretary of State does not agree with that opinion, and will not follow it.
On August 22, Illinois House Bill 1968 was signed into law. It lowers the number of signatures to get on the ballot for Mayor of Chicago from 25,000 signatures to 12,500 signatures. This is the easiest petition requirement (for candidates who are not Democrats or Republicans) to run for that office since 1931. The requirement between 1931 and 1979 was 5% of the last vote cast (usually about 50,000), and in 1979 it had been lowered to 25,000.
On August 22, the North Carolina State Board of Elections removed the Libertarian Party from the ballot. In response, the party plans to bring a lawsuit, charging that the state’s ballot access laws violate the State Constitution. Article I, sec. 10, of the North Carolina Constitution says “All elections shall be free”.
Current ballot access law requires a party to obtain 69,734 signatures, unless it polled 10% for president or governor at the last election. Yet U.S. history shows that states that require as few as 5,000 signatures never have a crowded ballot, where “crowded ballot” is defined as a ballot with more than 8 parties or candidates. North Carolina only required 10,000 signatures for a new party to get on the ballot before 1981.
Jim Gilchrist, founder of the Minutemen Project, will be the Constitution Party’s candidate for congress in the 48th California district on October 4 (in California, the Constitution Party is called the American Independent Party). The 48th district is in southern Orange County. Gilchrist’s announcement on August 20 received a great deal of publicity, since he is well-known. If no one gets 50% of the vote on October 4, the top vote-getter from each party will run in a run-off on December 6.
17 candidates will be on the October ballot: 10 Republicans, 4 Democrats, Gilchrist, Libertarian Bruce Cohen, and Green Bea Tiritilli. Several other candidates failed to turn in enough signatures.
