Missouri’s Governor vetoed HB 525 several weeks ago. This is the bill that makes a small but important improvement in the state’s ballot access law. This site reported he had signed it. The error was the state’s; the legislative web page said he had signed it, when this was not true. This news is very disappointing. It is possible the legislature will override the veto in September.

Generally, a party that petitions for qualified status in Missouri (as in 38 other states) doesn’t need to print the names of its nominees on the petition itself. They are chosen later, after the group has qualified as a party. But Missouri law says the petition must name the candidates for presidential elector. The law is not the result of anyone’s thinking; it is just a typographical error in the law passed back in 1993.

On July 12, New Mexico’s Secretary of State ruled that parties are not disqualified until they have failed the vote test twice in a row. Therefore, the Green and Constitution Parties are qualified in New Mexico for 2006.

The OSCE (formal name for the Helsinki Accords) Parliamentary Assembly voted overwhelmingly to condemn the U.S. for violating the accords, on July 5. Specifically, the U.S. was condemned for giving residents of the District of Columbia no voting representation in congress. 260 legislators from OSCE countries comprise the OSCE’s Parliamentary Assembly. This includes 12 members of congress from the U.S. Outside of the U.S. delegation, only two members voted against the resolution, a member from Canada and one from Denmark.