Bad Minnesota Ballot Access Bill Designed to Disqualify Legal Marijuana Now Party as a Major Party Before 2024 General Election

Posted on by March 11, 2024
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Here is a link to the bill, SF4729. Scroll down to Sec. 7 for its impact on Major Party Status for political parties in Minnesota.

In the 2020 General Election, Kevin O’Connor, the Legal Marijuana Now (LMN) Party candidate for US Senator, receiving 190,154 votes, which was 5.92% of the vote. Because of that, the LMN Party is qualified as a Major Party in Minnesota through the 2024 General Election. This bill is designed to take from the LMN its legitimately earned Major Party status.

The effective date of the proposed change in the bill is August 1, 2024. Because this is in the middle of the election and petitioning season, that effective date is likely unconstitutional.

There must have been an error in the law before the current attempt to amend it, as the date of the 2024 General Election is November 5, not November 7.

Jim Hedges, Prohibition Party Leader, Dies at the Age of 85

Posted on by March 11, 2024
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James A. “Jim” Hedges died March 4, 2024, at the age of 85. Here is an obituary. He was the editor of the Prohibition Party’s quarterly newsletter, “The National Prohibitionist” for decades. He was also elected Township Auditor several times as a Prohibition Party nominee, becoming the only person to win partisan office in his party in many decades.

He was also the Prohibition Party nominee for president in 2016, and he polled 5,617 votes, the highest presidential vote total for the party since 1988, when Earl Dodge had polled 8,002. In Arkansas County, Arkansas, Hedges placed third, with 133 votes (2.14%), ahead of Gary Johnson (the Libertarian nominee, who placed third nationally). Hedges was also the Prohibition Party representative to the board of the Coalition for Free & Open Elections (COFOE). He was well-informed about ballot access laws. It is probably no exaggeration to say that if he had never lived, the Prohibition Party would no longer exist.

Brief Filed in New Jersey Lawsuit Over Primary Ballot Format

Posted on by March 11, 2024
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Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Andy Kim has a lawsuit pending in federal court against the New Jersey primary ballot format, in which candidates favored by the party organization are given a far better spot on the June primary ballot than other candidates from that same party. On March 11, Kim filed a brief in response to the request from the Camden County Democratic organization to intervene in the case.

Kim points out the contradiction in the Democratic Party’s position. On the one hand the Camden County Democrats argue that they should be allowed to intervene, because the party has a favored candidate in the primary and the party wants to defend giving her the best spot on the ballot because it has an interest in boosting their favored candidate. On the other hand the party, as well as the government defendants, argue that ballot position doesn’t really effect voter behavior and thus does not matter.

Kim’s brief highlights this logical contradiction. Here is is. Kim v Hanlon, 3:24cv-1098.

Idaho Legislature Passes Bill Moving Independent Presidential Petition Deadline from March to August

Posted on by March 10, 2024
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On March 8, the Idaho legislature passed HB 661, which moves the independent presidential petition deadline from March 15 to August 1. The bill had passed the House on March 1. The vote was unanimous in both houses.

This only happened because of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s pending lawsuit against the old deadline. The judge had said oprally at a status conference that he would strike down the March deadline unless the legislature quickly passed the bill. Thanks to Rick Lass for this news.