Gary Johnson Mulling Run For New Mexico Senate Seat

by Russell Contreras for Associated Press via Midland Daily News

Former Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson is considering jumping into the race for the U.S. Senate in New Mexico, raising the profile of a race that Democrats seeking to capture the majority in Congress had seen as a safe seat.


Johnson consultant Ron Nielson told The Associated Press on Friday that the former governor is "strongly considering" running if Libertarian candidate Aubrey Dunn quits the race as expected.  Read more HERE.

West Virginia Secretary Of State Bars Third-Party Bid By Blankenship

by DOUG MATACONIS via Outside the Beltway

West Virginia’s Secretary of State has ruled that Don Blankenship, who came in third place in the Republican Primary to face Senator Joe Manchin, cannot appear on the ballot as the nominee of the Constitution Party due to the state’s “sore loser” law.  Read more HERE

Editor's Note:   I just want to say this is hogwash.  I am not a fan of sore loser laws.  Why are their restraints on democracy?  Just another hurdle for third parties and another asterisk for democracy in America.

More Independent Voters in Oregon Than Either Major Party

by Robert Harris for Oregon Outpost

• The Biggest news. In May, for the first time ever, there were more i/Independents (Independent Party plus non affiliated voters) than there were Democrats.
• In May, 2018 there were 2,413 more i/Independents than Democrats
• In June there were 8,860 more i/Independents than Democrats.
• i/Independents outnumbered Republicans as of June 2018 by 261,899 voters.
• There are 28% more i/Independents than there are Republicans in Oregon
• Democrats and Republicans still hold closed primaries.
• May 2018 to June 2018 changes:
• Non Affiliated voters up 3,333
• Independent Party up 34
• Republicans down 67
• Democrats down 130 

Read more HERE

Evan McMullin Starts New Political Movement - Patriots United

Former 2016 Independent/Third party candidate Evan McMullin & Mindy Finn have launched a new political movement hoping to draw from every side of the political aisle.  They released a statement via the Des Moines Register introducing America to their new organization.  You can read it HERE

West Virginia Secretary of State Applies Prior Disaffiliation Law to Bar Constitution Party Nominee for U.S. Senate

Ballot Access News

On July 26, the West Virginia Secretary of State ruled that the Constitution Party nominee for U.S. Senate, Don Blankenship, cannot be on the November ballot even though he has enough valid signatures. The Secretary of State invoked the law, passed this year, that says a candidate cannot petition to be on the November ballot if he was a registered member of a qualified party at any time during that year. See this story.

Blankenship will sue, arguing that the prior disaffiliation law cannot be applied to him because it did not exist until June 2018. Courts generally hold that due process prevents a state from making ballot access more difficult, in the middle of the petitioning period. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed one of these decisions in 1977, Hudler v Austin, a Michigan case.

There are now two states in which Constitution Party nominees must go to court to be on the ballot, because the party’s nominees for some offices had run in major party primaries. In each case, the law cited by states to keep them off the ballot was not passed until after the Constitution Party had nominated its candidates. The other such state is North Carolina.

Maryland Governor Signs Petition for an Independent Candidate for U.S. Senate

Ballot Access News

Neal Simon is an independent candidate for U.S. Senate from Maryland this year. According to this story, earlier this month, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan signed the petition to put Simon on the ballot.

Working Families Party Chair Asks Voters Not to Vote for Working Families Party Nominee in U.S. House, 14th District

Ballot Access News

Dan Cantor, chair of the Working Families Party, here asks voters to vote against the Working Families Party nominee for U.S. House, 14th district.

Statement From American Solidarity Party

"We believe in the vigorous enforcement of civil liberties enshrined in the Bill of Rights and that the persistence of unjust discrimination in our society must be acknowledged and addressed.

We also believe that the state has a role to play in protecting marginalized groups from unjust discrimination and should pay particular attention to the effect that policy proposals will have on vulnerable and marginalized groups.

We support the principle that all persons have equal dignity and are entitled to nondiscriminatory treatment regardless of race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.

We call on our elected officials at every level to advance laws favoring full and fair access to the polls, courts, housing, education, employment, and credit regardless of race, religion, sex, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability."

Find out more about what this party stands for by reading their platform HERE

United Utah Party Raises $20,000 For 2018 Elections

From United Utah Party's Facebook page:

"WE DID IT! We successfully raised our goal of $20,000 to help us advertise the party. A big, BIG thank you to all who helped make this possible!

There are just over 100 days left until election day 2018. We'll be increasing our advertising in those areas where we have candidates, making it more likely that we can elect practical leaders in our state and country. Please help us to continually spread the word."

New York Independence Party Chooses Basile

State Independence Party Chairman Frank MacKay announced this week his endorsement of Tom Basile to run on the Independence Party line to succeed state Sen. William J. Larkin Jr. Senator in the 39th district.

Basile has now earned the nomination of the Republican, Conservative and Independence Parties for the November election.  

Read more HERE

Portland Tribune Editorial: IPO Must Prove Viability

"You have to give the leaders of the Independent Party of Oregon credit for being clever.

For starters, they long ago chose a name destined to swell their organization's ranks. People wanting to declare their independence from political parties, but unaware that the way to do that in Oregon is by signing up as a "non-affiliated voter," have registered instead for the Independent Party.

That savvy move is likely partly responsible for the party's registration inching past 5 percent of the electorate in 2015, thereby establishing the IPO as a "major party" in Oregon for 2016. Although registration dropped below 5 percent this year, lawmakers agreed to let the IPO remain a major party for the 2018 election cycle, because of the impact Oregon's landmark "Motor Voter" automatic voter registration had on the IPO." 

Read more HERE

Modern Whig Party on "Detroit Today"

Dan Smith is the director of advancement for the Modern Whig Party. He joins Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson to talk about the party, it’s ideas, it’s goals, and about the third party movement in America in the Trump era.

“All of our founding fathers were Whigs,” says Smith. “The Republicans ascended when the Whigs died. I’m hoping that a similar thing happens now the other way around — the Whigs ascend as I see the GOP as being dead and gone.”

“The Republicans no longer believe in free trade. They really no longer believe in fiscal conservatism as they (participate in) ballooning deficits,” he continues. “Our country is more polarized as ever. And we really need something in the center that, as the other parties cater to the extremes and ever-smaller populations, we need something in the center that brings people together instead of divides them.”  Read more and listen to the entire interview HERE

Libertarian Party Gubernatorial Campaign to Accept BTC Despite Unclear Legal Framework

By Max Yakubowski @ CoinTelegraph

The Libertarian Party candidate for Wisconsin governor will accept Bitcoin (BTC) donations despite the state’s Ethics Commission’s finding them a “serious challenge” to compliance with state law, local news agency the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported July 23. Read more HERE

West Virginia Constitution Party Files U.S. Senate Petition on July 24

Ballot Access News

The West Virginia Constitution Party will file approximately 11,700 signatures in West Virginia on July 24. The requirement is 4,537. The petition is to be on the ballot for U.S. Senate. The party has never been ballot-qualified in West Virginia before, because that requires polling 1% for Governor, and it has never done that. Therefore, it must constantly petition.

The nominee is Don Blankenship, who ran in this year’s Republican primary for U.S. Senate. The law banning “sore losers” was unclear until this year, when the legislature passed HB 4434, which says that no one can be on the general election ballot as an independent candidate or the nominee of an unqualified party if he or she was registered in a major party earlier that year. But that new law didn’t go into effect until after Blankenship had started collecting signatures, and the party will argue that due process does not permit a state to make ballot access more restrictive in the middle of the petitioning period.

Twenty Ohio Libertarians Make Use of New Procedure to Run for Partisan Office

Ballot Access News

The Libertarian Party of Ohio is the first party to use the ballot access procedures for newly-qualifying parties that the legislature passed in 2013. The party had first met the July 3, 2018 deadline for the party petition. That petition required 54,965 valid signatures, and was found to be valid.

Then, the law said by July 19, any candidate who wanted a Libertarian nomination was required to submit a petition of 50 signatures for statewide office, or five signatures for other office. Twenty Libertarians submitted such petitions. In no instance did more than a single Libertarian for any particular office submit a candidate petition, so all of them are now deemed nominated and will appear on the November ballot. If two Libertarians had submitted a candidate petition for the same office, then the law permitted the state party officers to choose the actual nominee, and the other person would not appear on the ballot.

The offices being sought are U.S. Senate, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Auditor, Secretary of State, four US House seats (districts 5, 10, 14, and 15), one State Senate seat, seven State House seats, and three partisan county offices.

The Green Party is also on the ballot, but it is not a newly-qualifying party, so it nominated this year by primary in May.

One of the paradoxes of the 2013 law is that newly-qualifying parties can choose candidates who emerge as late as July. Yet the independent candidate petition law requires that all non-presidential independents must submit petitions by the day before the May primary (the primary is in May in midterm years and March in presidential years). In 2005 the Sixth Circuit had upheld the independent candidate deadline on the grounds that it wouldn’t be fair if independents could decide to run for office later than the date parties nominated candidates. That decision was Lawrence v Blackwell, 430 F.3d 368. It now appears to be obsolete.

Second Circuit Won’t Enjoin New York Law Letting Individuals Give More Money to a Qualified Party than an Unqualified Party

Ballot Access News

On July 20, the Second Circuit refused to enjoin a New York campaign finance law that lets individuals give more donations to a qualified party than an unqualified party. Upstate Jobs Party v Kosinski, 18-1586. The three judges were Reena Raggi, Peter W. Hall, and Debra Ann Livingston, all Bush Jr. appointees.

The six-page order makes it clear that the panel thinks the lawsuit has merit, and that there are problems with the New York law. But they said there would be no useful purpose in an injunction, partly because the Upstate Jobs Party doesn’t have any candidates this year for statewide office.

Albuquerque Journal Carries Op-Ed, Making the Case that Libertarian Party’s Major Party Status is Not Threatened Just Because it has No Gubernatorial Nominee

Ballot Access News

The Albuquerque Journal has op-ed by me, setting forth why the Libertarian Party does not need to have a gubernatorial nominee this year in New Mexico in order to retain its qualified major party status.

Stephanie Miner, New York Gubernatorial Nominee of the Serve America Movement, Interviewed on Public Radio

Ballot Access News

A New York state public radio station has this long interview with Stephanie Miner, gubernatorial nominee of the Serve America Movement. She is currently petitioning for a place on the November ballot. The Serve America Movement is the nation’s newest nationally-organized political party. Here is its web page.

Leonard Peltier Wins Procedural Point in his Lawsuit Against Prison for Discriminatory Treatment of his Art

Ballot Access News

On July 16, Leonard Peltier won a procedural ruling in his lawsuit against prison authorities, who sponsored an art exhibit and initially included his work, but then removed it because of his perceived beliefs. Peltier was the Peace & Freedom Party presidential nominee in 2004. Here is the 18-page ruling in Peltier v Sacks, w.d. Washington, 3:17cv-5209. Thanks to the Institute for Free Speech for this news.

The ruling is by U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Leighton, a Bush Jr. appointee.

North Carolina Constitution Party Files Ballot Access Lawsuit for Three of its Nominees

Ballot Access News

On July 20, the North Carolina Constitution Party filed a federal lawsuit to regain a spot on the November ballot for three of its nominees. The State Board of Elections removed them because they had run in Democratic or Republican primaries this year, and had lost those primaries; then the Constitution Party had nominated them in its convention. Poindexter v Strach, e.d., 5:18cv-366. Here is the eleven-page Complaint.

The basis for the lawsuit is due process. On the date the Constitution Party nominated the three candidates, there was no law saying a convention party could not nominate persons who had earlier run in a major party primary. The law didn’t exist until a few days after the nominating convention. Two of the candidates are running for partisan county office and one for the legislature. One had run in a Democratic primary, and two in a Republican primary.

Montana Secretary of State Appeals Green Party Ballot Access Decision to State Supreme Court

Ballot Access News

On July 18, the Montana Secretary of State asked the Montana Supreme Court to put the Green Party back on the November ballot. The Secretary of State had originally determined that the Green Party had enough valid signatures, in March. In June the state held a primary for the Green Party. Then, on July 9, a state trial court removed the party from the ballot, on the basis that the Democratic Party’s challenge to the petition validity should be upheld. The trial over the validity of the signatures had been held in April, and the judge waited almost three months before ruling. See this story.

Vermont Progressive Party Asks Party Members to Cast a Write-in Vote for Bernie Sanders in Progressive Primary

Ballot Access News

Independent U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders is up for re-election in Vermont this year. The Progressive Party has always been closely associated with Sanders, but Sanders has never run for office under its label. The only labels he has run under have been Liberty Union (decades ago) and independent.

Vermont allows write-ins in party primaries. If the Progressive Party primary is used to nominate Sanders this year via write-ins, it seems plausible he would accept the party’s nomination for the first time. The primaries in Vermont are August 14.

Joe Lieberman Says New York Voters Should Elect Working Families Party Nominee Joseph Crowley in 14th District

Ballot Access News

Former Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman has recommended that New York voters in the 14th U.S. House district vote against the Democratic nominee, and in favor of Working Families Party nominee Joseph Crowley. See this story.

Constitution Party Convention Breaks Up, Will Try Again In August

by Todd Epp for KELO

Another South Dakota political party has to do a do-over on their convention.

The Constitution Party's convention broke up Saturday after confusion over who was the party chairperson and other issues.

The convention ended up nominating no candidates for statewide office.

Terry LaFleur accused Lora Hubbel and her supporters of trying to stage a coup. Both are running for the Constitution Party gubernatorial nomination. LaFleur said in a Facebook post he was contemplating criminal and civil actions against Hubbel and others. Read more HERE

The Libertarian Party Now Has a Secular Caucus Led by an Atheist State Rep.

By Hemant Mehta @ Patheos

Earlier this month, during the Libertarian Party’s national convention, a Secular Caucus was formed, led by New Hampshire State Rep. Brandon Phinney — one of only a handful of openly non-theistic state officials in the country.

Read More HERE

Green Party Candidate Kahn Endorsed By Nevada-Based Vets Group

Lynn Kahn, Schroon Lake, the Green Party congressional candidate for the 21st Congressional District, was endorsed on Saturday by the Nevada-based Veterans in Politics International. 
Read more HERE.

Libertarian Party At-Large Election Sparks Controversy

by Luke Henderson @ BeingLibertarian.com

"The Libertarian Party National Convention ended this month with the major highlights being the record-setting reelection of incumbent Chairman Nicholas Sarwark, the outspoken and controversial (and possible presidential candidate) Arvin Vohra losing his position as Vice Chairman to New York Libertarian Alex Merced, record-breaking fundraising (surpassing even the fundraising achieved during the 2016 election), and closing the notable “back door” to changing the party’s Statement of Principles by firmly requiring 7/8 of delegates to vote in favor of even a minor change."

Read more about the convention and the controversy HERE

Bill Gilbert Moderate Party Candidate for Governor On The Tara Granahan Show

Listen to "Bill Gilbert Moderate Party Candidate for Governor" on Spreaker.

California Constitution Party Chairman Don Grundmann In The News

Don Grundmann (lower right holding sign)

From 'Dixon Vice Mayor Faces Continuing Backlash as Crowds Protest Controversial Op-Ed', by Ali Wolf

..."He's standing for simply straight people; normal, rational, healthy people. Why can’t we have a march?" said Don Grundmann.

Grundmann came from the Bay Area to support Hickman. He says others do too.
"A lot of people can also support this but they’re drowned out," Grundmann said...

To read article in full, click here. 

* * *

Previously, Don Grundmann attracted controversy for his campaign statement on the California Voters Guide for the 2018 Primary Elections (bottom picture).

Larry Sharpe Interviewed on The Rubin Report

The Rubin Report

 

IPR: LNC Chair Nicholas Sarwark at FreedomFest

Independent Political Report

FreedomFest is “an annual festival where free minds meet to celebrate “great books, great ideas, and great thinkers” in an open-minded society. It is independent, non-partisan, and not affiliated with any organization or think tank with over 200 different speakers, over 125 general sessions, debates, panels, lectures and other presentations.”
 
Libertarian National Committee Chair Nicholas Sarwark appeared on the panel, “The Libertarian Outlook Here and Abroad,” Wednesday 11 July 2018 with Li Schooland and Thomas D. Walls.

Audio of the full presentation including comments by the other presenters and questions from members of the audience can be purchased HERE.

The following is a transcript of seclected portions of Mr. Sarwark’s remarks.

SARWARK:  I am Nicholas Sarwark; I am chairman of the Libertarian National Committee.  I am entering my third term in that position after having been reelected in New Orleans last week. I am the head of one of only three national political parties in this country, and the only one that’s growing, but also in the context of this panel has the distinction, to my knowledge, of being the first explicitly libertarian party in the world. When the Libertarian Party (of the United States) was founded in 1971 in Colorado, it was the first to say that individual liberty is the highest value, and that is to what we set our political ends. From that humble beginning, we have grown to a point where we own our own national office, just like the other two national parties that . . . are not as good.  We have candidates on the ballot in all 50 states, or we are on track for all 50 states this election cycle. We have contested every presidential election since 1972. We are growing in numbers, dollars, candidates, members – people switching from their terrible old political parties to one that is more comfortable.  Basically, everything is coming up Libertarian Party, right now...

To read interview in full, click here.

 

Another O'Connor plans to join Ohio's 12th Congressional District race

by Jeremy Pelzer, cleveland.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio--Another O'Connor is looking to join the high-profile race for Ohio's 12th Congressional District.

Matthew Brendan O'Connor is preparing to file to run this fall as the Libertarian nominee for the Central Ohio district, according to Libertarian Party of Ohio spokesman David Jackson.

If he makes the ballot, he would face Democrat Danny O'Connor, Republican Troy Balderson, and Green Joe Manchik in November. Matthew O'Connor is not running in the Aug. 7 special election for the seat, which was vacated by Republican Pat Tiberi last January.

The Libertarian O'Connor didn't return an email seeking comment Monday. But he describes himself on his LinkedIn profile page as an "information security leader, speaker, and evangelist." He states his current job title is "global director, Office of Cyber Security," though - intriguingly - he lists his last two employers only as "confidential."

O'Connor is one of 20 candidates Ohio Libertarians are planning to run this year after regaining state recognition as a minor party last week for the first time in nearly four years. All Libertarian candidates have until Thursday to file petition signatures to run; statewide and congressional candidates need 50 valid signatures apiece, while legislative and county candidates only need five...

To read article in full, click here.

Ron Paul Endorses New Jersey Libertarian Nominee for U.S. Senate

Ballot Access News

On July 16, former Congressman Ron Paul endorsed Murray Sabrin for U.S. Senate in New Jersey this year. Sabrin is the Libertarian Party nominee. See this story.

Oklahoma Ballot Order Lottery puts Libertarian Party on Top Line in November 2018 Election

Ballot Access News

On July 12, the Oklahoma State Board of Elections conducted its customary drawing to determine the order of parties on the November ballot. The Libertarian Party ended up with the top spot; Republicans are next; Democrats are third. Thanks to Chris Powell for this news.

The reason Oklahoma has a lottery for ballot position is that the Republican Party won a lawsuit against the old law back in the 1990’s. The old law said specifically that Democrats should always have the top line. Back then Oklahoma had a majority of Democrats in state government.

New Mexico Recount Doesn’t Find Enough Libertarian Gubernatorial Write-ins to Put Party’s Gubernatorial Candidate on November Ballot

Ballot Access News

The New Mexico Libertarian Party held a primary on June 5. It had no gubernatorial candidate whose name was printed on the ballot, but it had a write-in gubernatorial candidate, Bob Walsh. Write-in candidates in primaries need as many write-ins as the number of signatures that would have been needed to put that same candidate on the primary ballot. For 2018 statewide Libertarians, the requirement was 230 write-ins. The original count showed Walsh with 175 write-ins.

He requested a recount in eight counties, but the results only gained him eleven votes, so he is still short and his name won’t be on the November ballot. However, some news stories erroneously have said that therefore the party will lose its status as a major party. Actually section 1-7-7 says, “‘Major political party’ means any qualified political party, any of whose candidates received as many as 5% of the total number of votes cast at the last preceding election for the office of Governor or president, as the case may be, and whose membership totals not less than one-third of 1% of the statewide registered voter file.”

UPDATE: see this thorough article in New Mexico Politics, which does a good job of explaining the controversy over the vote test.

Constitution Party Plans to Petition Statewide in Pennsylvania This Year, for First Time in Midterm Year Since 1998

Ballot Access News

The Constitution Party hopes to place a nominee on the Pennsylvania ballot this year for Governor. The party needs 5,000 signatures by August 1. If the drive succeeds, it will be the first time since 1998 that the party has been on statewide in Pennsylvania in a midterm year. In 1998, it received 10.44% of the vote for Governor for its nominee Peg Luksik.

Twelve Write-in Candidates in California Primary Place Second and Will Run in November

Ballot Access News

On July 13, the California Secretary of State released the official tally for the June 5, 2018 primary. In three U.S. House races and nine Assembly races, a write-in candidate placed second and will appear on the November ballot. Naturally, these were all races with only one candidate whose name had been printed on the ballot. See the summary pages here.

The three U.S. House races were the 13th, 19th, and 32nd districts. Republican write-ins placed second in the latter two districts, and a Green placed second in the 13th district.

For Assembly, Republicans placed second via write-ins in these districts: 7, 20, 27, 61, and 64. Libertarians placed second with write-ins in these districts: 4, 21, 51, and 69. The 4th district race is easily the most dramatic, because there were three write-ins. The Libertarian got 132, the Republican got 130, and the Green got 128.

The full Statement of Votes (which has the vote by county for every office) is here.

Joel Fox, California Politics Observer, Highlights Connections Between California Independent Candidate for Insurance Commissioner and John Kasich

Ballot Access News

California may elect an independent candidate to the office of Insurance Commissioner in November 2018. Steve Poizner, who held the same job as a Republican 2006-2010, is on the ballot as one of two candidates for that office again. His only opponent is a Democratic State Senator, Ricardo Lara. As far as is known, there have been no polls predicting who will win this race. If Poizner does win, he will be the first independent to be elected to California statewide office in history.

Joel Fox, editor of Fox & Hounds, here writes that Poizner was John Kasich’s California fundraising manager in 2016, when Kasich ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. Poizner was also a national co-chair of the Kasich campaign. Fox says that Kasich encouraged Poizner to run as an independent. Fox suggests that if Poizner wins, that will make it more likely that either John Kasich, or some other prominent person, will run for president as an independent in 2020.

Congressman Joe Crowley Seems Inclined to Leave his Name on November Ballot for New York U.S. House Seat as the Working Families Nominee

Ballot Access News

New York Democratic congressman Joe Crowley was defeated for re-election in the Democratic primary on June 26, for New York’s 14th U.S. House district. The winner of the primary is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

The Working Families Party, which almost always desires to cross-endorse the Democratic nominee, especially in congressional races, had expected Crowley to win the Democratic primary, so it already nominated Crowley. Now the Working Families Party wants Crowley to withdraw as the WFP nominee, but according to this Vox story, he is not inclined to do so.

The story accurately quotes some experts as saying the only way Crowley can withdraw from the WFP nomination is to be nominated by the WFP for some other office that is up this year, but he doesn’t want to do that. He says it violates the spirit of the election law, because whatever other office he would be nominated for, he would not sincerely want that other office.

The story also quotes Bill Lipton, New York director for the Working Families Party, as saying that Crowley should establish his residence outside New York state, for example Virginia. Lipton is wrong about that. The matter has already been litigated, both in New York and in Texas. A congressional candidate does not lose eligibility by being a resident of another state before the election. The only residence requirement for congress in the U.S. Constitution is residency as of election day. But ballots must be printed well before election day, so moving to another state would not make any candidate ineligible.

Ohio Secretary of State Says Libertarian Petition for Party Status is Valid

Ballot Access News

On July 12, the Ohio Secretary of State announced that the Libertarian Party petition for 2018 is valid. The Libertarian Party is now either a qualified party, or has a statewide nominee on the ballot even though the party is not a qualified party, in every state except Alabama, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Washington.

Petitioning for statewide nominees is proceeding in New York and Pennsylvania. Thanks to Bill Redpath for the Ohio news.

New York Times Story on Write-ins in the Primaries of Ballot-Qualified Third Parties

Ballot Access News

The New York Times has this interesting story about ballot-qualified minor parties in New York. It focuses on the fairly rare instances when these parties have primaries in which all write-ins are counted (they are only counted if a particular type of petition has been filed in advance of the primary). It also says, near the bottom of the article, that write-ins are more common in primaries now than they were in the past. In the past, all New York state precincts used mechanical voting machines, and it was difficult for any voter to cast a write-in, when those machines were in use. A voter had to find a particular kind of lever on the machine to access the paper roll on which a write-in vote could be cast, and most voters didn’t know how to do that. But for the last decade, New York has used paper ballots, which makes it much easier to cast a write-in vote.

New York Reform Party Nominates Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for U.S. House, 15th District

Ballot Access News

At the New York congressional primaries on June 26, the Reform Party had arranged for all write-ins to be counted in its primary for the 15th U.S. House district. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won that nomination, with 9 write-ins. No names were printed on the ballot. There were also 13 write-ins for other individuals, none of whom got as many as Ocasio-Cortez. Therefore, she was considered nominated. 

However, she declined the nomination, because she is also running as the Democratic nominee in the 14th district, and New York state law doesn’t let individuals run for two offices simultaneously. See this story. Thanks to Frank Morano for the link.

Vice-President Michael Pence PAC Accidentally Sends $5,000 Contribution to Former Green Party Nominee for Congress

Ballot Access News
  
Vice-president Michael Pence’s PAC recently sent a $5,000 campaign contribution to Carol Miller of New Mexico, a former Green Party congressional candidate. According to this story, Pence’s PAC sent the money to the wrong Carol Miller. The PAC intended the money to go to a West Virginia Republican congressional nominee who is also named Carol Miller.

Constitution Party of Texas 2018 State Convention Livestream

Constitution Party of Texas 2018 State Convention Livestream

Constitution Party of Wisconsin: 'Terry Larson is the Constitutionalist Candidate for Attorney General'

For Immediate Release – June 20, 2018 

The Constitution Party of Wisconsin is pleased to announce that Terry Larson, the party’s Communications Director, is the Constitutionalist candidate for Wisconsin Attorney General.
As Attorney General, Terry Larson will oppose the enforcement of Supreme Court opinions as “the law of the land”.
He will stop same-sex marriages which are not legal in our state, take action against anyone who damages or removes any veterans’ or Civil War memorials or monuments, and see federal immigration laws and/or similar state laws enforced.

“I will fight the infringement of all constitutional rights, especially the right to free speech and the freedom to keep and bear arms which we have under both our federal and state constitutions,” Larson said.

Terry Larson is the author of “The Christian Response to Homosexual Marriage: How Progressives are Ending America” published by World Ahead Press on June 26, 2017; exactly two years after the Supreme Court’s infamous Obergefell vs Hodges decision was released.

As he wrote, “If everyone agrees, if no one can be bothered to say anything, when five unelected lawyers on the Supreme Court give us their opinion and tell us that is the law, then we are done with this Constitution and we are done with this constitutional republic.”

Terry Larson has been a technical writer and publications project manager for agricultural, construction and consumer equipment manufacturers for over 25 years. He is a WELS church member, married with five children.

Terry Larson is campaigning for the office of Wisconsin Attorney General in response to the Obergefell SCOTUS decision, and the removal of Civil War memorials by Madison Mayor Paul Soglin in August 2017.