People’s Party of Florida Informs Eleventh Circuit of Florida State Court Decision in Rebekah Jones Case

Posted on by August 23, 2022
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On August 23, the People’s Party of Florida notified the Eleventh Circuit about the August 22 decision of a Florida state appeals court decision putting Rebekah Jones on the primary ballot for U.S. House. See the filing here in People’s Party of Florida v Florida Department of State, 22-12451.

Both the People’s Party, and the Rebekah Jones candidacy, had been barred from the ballot by the Florida law that says no one may run in a primary who has not been a member of the party for a full year before filing. The State Court of Appeals on August 22 had restored Rebekah Jones to the Democratic primary, saying that if the candidates certifies that she is eligible, no one can dispute that.

The People’s Party wants to place Elise Mysels on the November ballot as its nominee for Pasco County Commission. If Mysels does not get on the ballot, the voters will have no choice for that election because there are no other candidates except for an unopposed slate of Republicans. Mysels could not have been a member of the People’s Party for a full year before qualifying because the People’s Party wasn’t on the ballot that early, and voters in Florida cannot be registered into an unqualified party. The U.S. District Court Judge had ruled against the People’s Party, citing the “Purcell Principle”, which he believed bars adding candidates to the ballot in an election year. Obviously the state court in the Jones cases didn’t think the “Purcell Principle” bars adding candidates to the ballot by court order in the middle of the election year.

Missouri Marijuana Legalization Initiative Benefited from Review of County Election Official Errors

Posted on by August 23, 2022
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This year’s Missouri marijuana legalization initiative only qualified for the ballot because proponents found enough errors in the petition-checking process that had been conducted by county election officials. Proponents reviewed the work of the counties, and found several thousand signatures that should not have been disqualified. The proponents then presented this evidence to the Secretary of State, who agreed with the proponents. See this story. Thanks to Fairvote for the link.

Arizona Libertarians Didn’t Poll Enough Write-in Votes in Primary to Qualify for General Election Ballot

Posted on by August 23, 2022
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On August 22, the Arizona Secretary of State posted the official election returns for the August 2, 2022 primary. See them here.

Under legislation passed in 2015, write-in candidates in party primaries need a very large number of write-ins, in order to qualify for the general election ballot. None of the Libertarian candidates for federal or state office polled enough write-ins, which is no surprise, because no minor party has been able to meet those requirements in any of the four primaries held since the new law passed.

For the statewide offices, the Libertarian write-in totals are: Governor Barry Hess 550, Attorney General Michael Kielsky 571, Superintendent of Public Instruction Sheila Reid-Shaver 557, Corporation Commissioner Nathan Gage Madden 216. All of them needed 3,715 write-ins. Of course, only registered Libertarians could cast a write-in vote in the Libertarian primary.

If a candidate is on the primary ballot, there is no minimum number of votes needed. Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate Marc Victor was on the Libertarian primary ballot, so he only needed one vote. In the primary he received 3,065 votes.

The law is more lenient for parties that are on the ballot as a result of a petition that was completed in either of the last two elections. For these “new” parties, only one write-in vote is needed in that party’s primary. But the Libertarian Party is not a “new” party because it has been on the ballot without interruption since 1996.

Ohio Independent Legislative Candidate Gets One Step Closer to Getting on November Ballot

Posted on by August 23, 2022
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On August 22, the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections voted on whether Ohio Representative Shayla Davis can be on the November ballot as an independent candidate for State House. The Board tied, 2-2, which means that the challenge to her candidacy now goes to the Secretary of State, Frank LaRose. Davis has enough valid signatures. He ballot position is challenged on the grounds that she is too closely tied to the Democratic Party. See this story.