Two Additional Parties Won Partisan Elections on Nov. 8

Posted on by November 25, 2005
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Besides the instances listed in an earlier post, two other minor parties won partisan elections on November 8, 2005. In Connecticut, the Chatham Party elected five candidates to the town council of East Hampton. The other two seats on the council were won by Republican nominees. The party takes its name from the old colonial name for East Hampton.

In Pennsylvania, the Prohibition Party re-elected Jim Hedges, its nominee for Thompson Township (Fulton County) Assessor. Besides being the Prohibition Party nominee, Hedges also won the major party nominations by write-ins at their primaries. Therefore he was unopposed in November.

New Mexico Independent Deadlines Now Earlier

Posted on by November 24, 2005
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This year, the New Mexico legislature passed SB 678, which moves the independent presidential petition deadline from September to June, and also moves the deadline for non-presidential independent candidates from July to June. The bill did not affect the petition deadline for minor party nominee petitions. They continue to be due in July.

Courts in Alaska, Kansas, Nevada, Rhode Island, and South Dakota have previously ruled that independent presidential deadlines as early as June are unconstitutional. However, since then, courts in Texas and Arizona have upheld such deadlines.

Reform Party Gets No Judicial Relief from its Debt

Posted on by November 23, 2005
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In 2000, the Reform Party received $2,522,690 from the U.S. government to pay for its national presidential convention. It was entitled to this money because it had polled over 5% for president in 1996.

In 2002, the Federal Election Commission audited the party, and determined that $333,588 was not properly spent, and should be returned to the U.S. treasury. On November 22, 2005, a U.S. District Court in Florida refused to disturb the FEC’s claim that the money is owed. The federal court in Florida said the only possible court to give the party any relief is the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., but that court had already denied any relief in 2003. The Florida court has forbidden the Reform Party national committee from spending any money until it repays the debt to the government. FEC v Reform Party, northern district of Fla., 1:04-cv-79.

Leading Law Firm Will Handle Illinois Appeal

Posted on by November 23, 2005
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The law firm Olson, Hagel & Fishburn has agreed to handle the appeal in Lee v Illinois State Bd. of Elections, in the 7th circuit. The Lee case challenges Illiniois law that says independent candidates for the legislature must submit a petition signed by 10% of the last vote cast. Olson, Hagel & Fishburn is one of the leading law firms in the nation for election law, and won the case called California Democratic Party v Jones in the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000.

Illinois is the only state that requires a petition for independent candidates for any office in excess of 5% of the number of registered voters.