Procedural Win in Indiana Ballot Access Case

Posted on by October 31, 2022
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On October 28, U.S. District Court Judge James R. Sweeney, a Trump appointee, issued an order in Indiana Green Party v Sullivan, s.d., 1:22cv-518. This is the case that challenges the Indiana ballot access laws for independent candidates and the nominees of unqualified parties. The order rejects the state’s request to dismiss the case without even holding a trial. The state said that because the Indiana petition (2% of the last vote cast for Secretary of State) was upheld in the Seventh Circuit in 1985 (when the 2% petition was only two years old), therefore the case should be dismissed. But the judge wrote that “it has been 37 years since Hall was decided. Both the law and the facts have changed…It is far too early for the Court to say that no relief is possible on the facts as alleged.”

New Mexico Libertarians Who Are in Alignment with National Libertarian Committee Begin to Organize

Posted on by October 30, 2022
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On October 29, a zoom meeting was held to organize a political party in New Mexico that is in alignment with the Libertarian National Committee. The existing ballot-qualified Libertarian Party in New Mexico and the national committee are estranged from each other.

Although the new party desires to qualify for the ballot, it cannot start to circulate a petition until it chooses a name. The new group is tentatively calling itself the Free Libertarian Party, but the group is aware that state law won’t permit that label. The law says, “No political party shall adopt any party name or party emblem which is the same as, similar to, or which conceivably can be confused with or mistaken for the party name or party emblem of any other qualified political party in New Mexico.”

The existing ballot-qualified Libertarian Party in New Mexico nominates by primary, so it is possible for members of both groups to engage in contested primary battles in the primary, should they desire to do so.

October 2022 Ballot Access News Print Edition

Posted on by October 29, 2022
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Ballot Access News
October 2022 – Volume 38, Number 5

This issue was printed on white paper.

Table of Contents

  1. STUDY SHOWS MAGNITUDE OF MINOR PARTY AND INDEPENDENT VOTE FOR U.S. HOUSE
  2. ROBERTS COURT IS THE WORST FOR BALLOT ACCESS SINCE THE VINSON COURT
  3. ALASKA EASES DEFINITION OF QUALIFIED PARTY
  4. NEW MEXICO COURT REMOVES COUNTY COMMISSIONER FOR INSURRECTION
  5. BALLOT ACCESS WINS
  6. BALLOT ACCESS LOSSES
  7. MINOR PARTY AND INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE VOTE FOR U.S. HOUSE
  8. U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CANDIDATES ON 2022 BALLOT
  9. ALASKA SPECIAL ELECTION
  10. TWO NEW HAMPSHIRE LIBERTARIANS WIN DEMOCRATIC NOMINATIONS
  11. NEW PARTY QUALIFIES IN DELAWARE
  12. FORMER NORTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR JOINS NO LABELS PARTY
  13. OREGON INDEPENDENT SPENT $897,000 TO OBTAIN BALLOT ACCESS
  14. SUBSCRIBING TO BAN WITH PAYPAL

Florida State Appeals Court Removes Local Initiative From the Ballot

Posted on by October 28, 2022
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On October 27, a Florida State Appeals Court removed a local initiative from the ballot in Orange County. Florida Association of Realtors v Orange County, 5D22-2277. The vote was 2-1. See this story. The initiative concerns rent control.

Because the ballots have already been printed and voting is already underway, it is impossible to physically remove the initiative from the ballot. Instead the votes will not be counted.

U.S. District Court Issues Final Order in Maine Libertarian Ballot Access Lawsuit

Posted on by October 28, 2022
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On October 26, U.S. District Court Judge Lance Walker issued a final order in Baines v Bellows, 1:19cv-509. It reiterates that it is unconstitutional for a state to eliminate a party’s registered members, just because it goes off the ballot. It also orders the Secretary of State to keep the Libertarian Party as a choice on voter registration forms. But it declines to put the party on the ballot for 2024. It notes that even though the court had extended the party’s qualified status for the 2022 election, no Libertarian ran for any federal or state partisan office in Maine in 2022.

Here is the final order.