On March 1, Harry Browne, famous author and Libertarian Party presidential nominee in 1996 and 2000, died. He had been in poor health for the last few months, and was age 72.
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On March 1, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard arguments in whether Ralph Nader must pay attorneys fees, when challengers sued to keep him off the ballot in Pennsylvania in 2004. It was difficult to predict what the court will do; the questions and comments by the justices were not very revealing. If Nader loses, he will be required to pay $81,000 to the attorneys who sued to keep him off the ballot. In re Nader, no. 17 MAP 2005.
Christy Mihos is leaving the Massachusetts Republican Party, to run as an independent candidate for Governor this year. His is a multi-millionaire with high name recognition.
The Seattle University Law Review has just published Oliver Hall’s article, criticizing the U.S. Supreme Court’s ballot access record. The article is in Volume 29 (Winter 2005), number 2, and is 42 pages.
On February 10, 2006, the Mississippi Democratic Party filed a federal lawsuit to obtain a closed primary for itself. Mississippi Democratic Party v Barbour, 4:06cv-29, northern dist. (Greenville). Mississippi is one of the 21 states that doesn’t have registration by party. It’s not clear, if the Democratic Party won its lawsuit, how the party would determine which voters are “really” Democrats. Thanks to Steve Rankin for this news.