Claudia De la Cruz Wins Georgia Ballot Access

Posted on by August 29, 2024
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On August 29, the Georgia Secretary of State overruled the administrative law judge as to Claudia De la Cruz’ ballot access. She is the nominee of the Party for Socialism & Liberation. The administrative law judge had said that petitioning candidates for president need a separate petition for each candidate for presidential elector. But the Secretary of State said that can’t be right, because in 2016 a federal judge had struck down the state’s ballot access petition requirement and had said that the new requirement will be 7,500 signatures. Forcing a petitioning presidential candidate to submit a separate petition for presidential elector, each with 7,500 signatures, would violate what the federal court had set as the state’s new interim law.

So far the Secretary of State has not ruled on the petitions for the other candidates, but it seems clear that the same logic will apply as well to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Cornel West. The issues for Jill Stein are somewhat different. So far there is no ruling from the Secretary of State for her.

UPDATE: the Secretary of State has also ruled in favor of Cornel West and Jill Stein. However Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will not be on the ballot. As to Jill Stein, the Secretary of State accepted the Unified Green Party as the relevant party, instead of the Green Party. As has been reported before, there is a factional split in the Greens in Georgia and the objectors tried to exploit that.

Constitution Party West Virginia Gubernatorial Petition Has Enough Signatures

Posted on by August 29, 2024
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The West Virginia Secretary of State has determined that the Constitution Party’s gubernatorial petition has enough valid signatures. S. Marshall Wilson, a former Republican state legislator, is the Constitution Party’s nominee for Governor. He is well-known and considered likely to poll more than 1% of the vote. If he does, the Constitution Party will be a ballot-qualified party in West Virginia for the first time ever.

The party circulated its gubernatorial petition before it knew who it was running for president, so the petition named no one for president, and the party’s presidential nominee, Randall Terry, won’t be on the ballot this year. Back in 1995, the West Virginia Secretary of State ruled that praties can use stand-in presidential candidates on their statewide petitions, but the Constitution Party didn’t take advantage of that idea this year. Thanks to Jeff Becker for the news about the Wilson petition acceptance.

Atlanta Civic Circle Article Gives More Detail about Georgia Presidential Ballot Access Fight

Posted on by August 29, 2024
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This Atlanta Civic Circle article has details about the decision of an Administrative Law Judge to exclude all the petitioning presidential candidates in Georgia this year, as well as his decision rejecting the new law that should have let Jill Stein on the ballot because her party is on for president in at least twenty other states.

The Administrative Law Judge’s ruling is not the final word. The Secretary of State will decide.

An interesting detail near the end of the story quotes one particular voter, who says he had been planning to vote for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., but now that Kennedy will not be on the Georgia ballot, that voter intends to vote for Donald Trump.

August 2024 Ballot Access News Print Edition

Posted on by August 28, 2024
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MOST BALLOT CHALLENGES AGAINST MINOR PARTY AND INDEPENDENT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES IN HISTORY

Even though the petition deadlines for minor party and independent presidential candidates have not yet passed in most states, already eight minor party and independent presidential candidates are facing challenges to their ballot access.  This is the highest number of such candidates in history.

“Challenge” means an outside individual or group initiated an administrative action or a lawsuit to keep someone off the ballot.  It does not mean that the state election office itself kept a candidate off the ballot.

Generally, when challenges are mounted to a minor party or independent presidential candidate, only one such candidate is the target, or two at the most.  But 2024 is very different, as this list shows:

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