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[ontheway]

Democrats, Republicans Miss Texas Deadline to Certify Presidential Nominees

Only Libertarian Bob Barr is certified on time for the November election.

Ballot Access News
August 27th, 2008

Section 192.031 of the Texas election code says that political parties must certify their presidential and vice-presidential candidates for the November ballot no later than 70 days before the general election. It says, �A political party is entitled to have the names of its nominees for president and vice-president placed on the ballot if before 5 p.m. of the 70th day before presidential election day, the party�s state chair signs and delivers to the secretary of state a written certification of the name�s of the party�s nominees for president and vice-president.�

This year, that deadline is August 26. UPDATE: At 2:30 pm Texas time, August 27, Kim Kizer of the Texas Secretary of State�s elections division says neither major party�s certification has been received in the Elections Division. The Executive Office of the Secretary of State refers all questions back to the Elections Division.

This year, neither the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party obeyed this law. See this link to the Secretary of State�s web page showing a blank for the Republicans and Democrats for president. It does show Bob Barr on the ballot; scroll down a little bit. If the Republicans have indeed filed, one wonders who they listed for vice-president, and why their filing is missing from the state web page.

That deadline had always been 60 days before the general election, until 2005, when for some reason the Texas legislature amended it to 70 days.

The major parties take these statutory deadlines seriously. Both major parties worked together in the period 1953-1955 to move these deadlines to accomodate late national conventions in 1956. Both major party conventions were in August in 1956. In all prior presidential elections, both major party national conventions had always been in July at the latest. Throughout U.S. history, most of them have been in June.

Then, in 1998 and 1999, the Republican National Committee worked with state legislators to move these deadlines even closer to the election, in preparation for the 2000 Republican national convention, which was the latest in U.S. history for a major party, ending on September 1. And when the Republican National Committee chose the 2008 dates (September 1-4), again, state legislatures were asked to move the deadlines, and all the states did so, to accomodate the late Republican convention. It is very peculiar that the Texas legislature moved the deadline to an earlier date in 2005. Thanks to Art DiBianca for this news.

[ontheway]

The Democrats and Republicans make ballot access laws nearly impossible to keep alternative parties and candidates off the ballot. But you can be sure that they will BREAK this law and put their own people on the ballot even though they do NOT qualify.

Sauce for the goose. The Ds and Rs should be held to the same standards and same laws as everyone else and not be listed on the ballot.

Alternatively, they can overturn all ballot access rules requiring candidates to submit signatures before September 1st in every state.

It's unlikely they will do either. They are corrupt. They will break the law.


The same thing happened in 1988 in Indiana. The state broke the law and put the Ds and Rs on the ballot. Yet, they still use that law to keep Ralph Nader and others off the Indiana ballot. Nader will not be a listed candidate in Indiana this year because of that law which they do not obey themselves.

[mises]

I bet they'll work it out. Just a guess.

[Ya-ta Boy]

Given that there is plenty of historic precedent for moving the deadline around, I suspect something will be done this time, too.

[ontheway]

[ontheway]

State of California breaks election laws foisted on others.
This issue is growing legs:


The Ventura County Star's Sacramento Bureau Chief Timm Herdt on state issues and politics from Sacramento to Ventura County. He can be contacted at [email protected].


August 27, 2008

Life after deadlines

California Secretary of State Debra Bowen today issued what might be described as a grudging press release, stating that the newest ballot proposition is being prepared for inclusion in a special, supplemental voter information guide. That measure is Proposition 1A, the Legislature's rewrite of the high-speed rail bond that had already been on the ballot as Proposition 1.

Because the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger thumbed their collective notices at the existing ballot deadline, Bowen's office will now spend an additional $5 million to print a second ballot pamphlet and mail it to voters. Voters will receive two pamphlets, one analyzing Proposition 1 and the other analyzing Proposition 1A. The actual ballot, however, will show only Proposition 1A, because ballots are printed later.

On the issue of frustration over missed deadlines, on this day Bowen has an ally in Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr of Georgia.

Barr sent an email to political reporters claiming that he will be "the only presidential candidate on the ballot in Texas." The reason: Republicans and Democrats each missed Texas' Aug. 26 deadline to submit names of candidates for the ballot.

Bowen lamented that she must do all this costly extra work because legislators have the power to make laws that allow them to ignore deadlines. Barr, too, realizes that the political powers in Texas will allow the two major parties to skirt that state's ballot deadline.

But Barr's campaign makes an excellent point: "When we miss deadlines, we get no second chances," said campaign manager Russell Verney. "Republicans and Democrats make certain that third party candidates are held to ballot access laws, no matter how absurd or unreasonable.Therefore, Republicans and Democrats should be held to the same standards."

The same argument applies to ballot measures. If a citizens' group turns in signatures too late, it cannot qualify a measure for the ballot. Perhaps legislators in California should be held to the same standard.

Posted by Timm Herdt at August 27, 2008 5:48 PM

[ontheway]

Criminal behavior in the Texas Secretary of State's office. In every election cycle the Ds and Rs use legal and illegal means to keep their opponents off the ballots:


Texas law says write-in candidates for president were supposed to have filed their declaration of candidacy by August 26. But Texas law also says that ballot-qualified parties are supposed to certify the names of their presidential and vice-presidential tickets by August 26.

At 2:30 pm Texas time, August 27, Kim Kizer of the Texas Secretary of State�s elections division says neither major party�s certification has been received in the Elections Division. The Executive Office of the Secretary of State refers all questions back to the Elections Division.

The Democratic and Republican Parties missed this deadline, but on August 29, the Texas Secretary of State added their nominees to its web page anyway.


In the meantime, the Constitution Party of Texas did file its write-in paperwork on August 20, but the Secretary of State "lost" it. The party has proof that the paperwork was received in the Secretary of State�s office. So far, the Texas Secretary of State has equivocated on whether she will accept the Constitution Party�s write-in presidential status.


Ralph Nader has been kept off the Texas ballot by the early deadline for petitions. The Green Party has been kept off. The Constitution Party may not even be allowed to write-in their candidate's name, yet Obama and McCain, who both failed to file to be on the ballot at all before the deadline, will be included illegally.


This is democracy in action in America.

[ontheway]

Legal action planned against the Texas Sec of State:

[ontheway]