Category Archives: ballot access

“Trump’s deadline to rule out a third-party bid: Sept. 30”

August 26, 2015, 7:31 amballot access, campaignsRick Hasen

CNN: Donald Trump must rule out a third-party bid before October if he wants to compete in South Carolina’s Republican primary, a crucial test in the nominating contest. Trump has repeatedly refused to rule out a third-party candidacy, noting… Continue reading

“Could Donald Trump really run as an independent?”

August 18, 2015, 10:02 amballot access, campaigns, third partiesRick Hasen

The Guardian: Running as an independent, however, would require more than a change of heart by Trump – it would require a national campaign to document the support of hundreds of thousands of voters across the country, in the form… Continue reading

“California Minor Parties Ask U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Case Against Top-Two System”

July 24, 2015, 5:29 pmballot access, political parties, primaries, third partiesRick Hasen

BAN reports on this cert petition.

” U.S. District Court Rules Pennsylvania System of Imposing Costs on Minor Party Petitions that Lack Sufficient Signatures is Unconstitutional”

July 24, 2015, 5:26 pmballot accessRick Hasen

BAN: On July 24, U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Stengel issued a 41-page opinion in Constitution Party of Pennsylvania v Cortes, e.d., 12-cv-2726. He determined that Pennsylvania’s system of charging huge court costs against petitioning candidates and groups violates… Continue reading

Sixth Circuit Strikes TN Ballot Access Statute as Too Onerous to Minor Parties

July 2, 2015, 9:22 amballot access, third partiesRick Hasen

Opinion (via Ken Jost). UPDATE: More from Richard Winger.

“This Quirky New Hampshire Law Might Keep Bernie Sanders Off The Ballot”

June 24, 2015, 2:23 pmballot access, political parties, primariesRick Hasen

NPR reports.

New Lawsuit Challenging Presidential Debate Format

June 22, 2015, 5:17 pmballot access, campaign finance, third partiesRick Hasen

BAN: On June 22, Level the Playing Field, Peter Ackerman, the Libertarian Party, and the Green Party, sued the Federal Election Commission in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. The case asks that the FEC be required to consider… Continue reading

“Various New York Politics Blogs Publish Misleading Information about Bernie Sanders’ Ability to be on New York Democratic Presidential Primary Ballot”

June 19, 2015, 9:45 amballot accessRick Hasen

BAN: Several New York politics blogs and publications have recently said that Bernie Sanders is in danger of being kept off the New York presidential primary ballot because he is not a Democrat and the Democratic Party has the power… Continue reading

“Washington Post Carries Unconvincing Op-Ed Saying New Hampshire Can Keep Bernie Sanders Off the Primary Ballot”

June 18, 2015, 8:45 pmballot access, political parties, primariesRick Hasen

Ballot Access News reports.

“Bernie Sanders’s primary problem”

June 18, 2015, 7:15 pmballot access, political parties, primariesRick Hasen

Charles Bass WaPo oped: Addressing hundreds of supporters while campaigning in Keene, N.H., last month, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) declared: “Let me tell you a secret: We’re going to win New Hampshire!” He has some reason to feel confident,… Continue reading

“Killer Mike asks fans to vote him into Georgia’s legislature, then finds they can’t”

June 15, 2015, 7:54 pmballot accessRick Hasen

LAT: “I would like as many people as possible to go to the polls and write in Michael Render,” he wrote on Instagram, using his real name. “If I win we win.” But later in the day, he walked… Continue reading

“Three Pennsylvania Ballot Access Rules Declared Unconstitutional as Applied to Green and Libertarian Parties”

May 18, 2015, 3:01 pmballot access, third partiesRick Hasen

BAN reports.

“Election Laws and Agenda Setting: How Election Law Restrictiveness Shapes the Complexity of State Ballot Measures”

May 15, 2015, 12:20 pmballot access, direct democracyRick Hasen

Kerri Milita has written this article for State Politics and Policy Quarterly. Here is the abstract: Recently, many U.S. states that allow citizen initiatives have passed laws designed to make it more difficult for an initiative to qualify for the… Continue reading