For some time, the Alaska Green Party has been in state court over the state’s definition of “party”. Recently, the state said it will remove the Green Party check-box from the new voter registration form. This has given the Green Party an excuse to ask for quick injunctive relief from the judge who has the lawsuit before him. He has indicated he will rule on whether to order the state to leave the Green Party on the form by February 8 or so.
To see the national vote total for each party in Canada’s January 23 election, see http://enr.elections.ca/National_e.aspx.
On January 23, U.S. District Court Judge Frank Polozola ruled from the bench that Louisiana cannot hold its congressional elections in late September or early October. Love v Edwards, 95-cv-788. The state hasn’t decided whether to appeal. The decision was no surprise, since the US Supreme Court had ruled the same way in this same case back in 1997. In 2005 the legislature had passed a new variation of the old law. The new variation said that the election was “deemed” to be in November.
Louisiana is the only state in which political parties do not nominate candidates for congress. Instead, all candidates run in the election on a single ballot. Usually someone gets over 50%, and the election is over. When no one gets 50%, Louisiana holds a run-off between the top two. Louisiana would like to hold its election in September, and if a run-off is needed, hold that in November. But a federal law, passed in 1872, orders the states to hold congressional elections in November, and says if the state wants a run-off to ensure the winner gets 50%, that run-off must be after the November election.
The decision will put pressure on Louisiana to either use Instant-Runoff Voting for its congressional elections, or else reinstate the system used in all other states, in which parties nominate candidates.
On January 23, the US Supreme Court refused to disturb the Minnesota Republican Party’s victory in the 8th circuit last August. The 8th circuit had struck down a state regulation, making it illegal for candidates for judge to “identify themselves as members of a political party” or to “attend a political gathering or seek, accept or use an endorsement from a political organization”. Dimick v Republican Party of Minnesota, 05-566.
The Working Families is about to start circulating a petition to qualify itself for the Oregon ballot. The party is now on the ballot statewide in only one state, New York. It is on the ballot in parts of Connecticut.
