Source: Ballot Access News

California, like many other states, prints ballots and other election material in Spanish in certain parts of the state. The California Secretary of State has struggled with how to translate “Americans Elect” into Spanish, and has finally concluded that the name is too generic, and can’t be literally translated. So, “Americans Elect” will be on voter registration cards, and on ballots, as “Partido Read more »

Source: Ballot Access News

On January 19, the California Senate unanimously passed AB 1413, which, among other things, eliminates write-in space from November ballots for Congress and partisan state office. The bill now goes to the Assembly, because when it passed the Assembly last year, it didn’t have the same provisions. Read more »

Source: Ballot Access News

On January 20, the Ohio Libertarian Party filed this 57-page brief in the 6th circuit, in Libertarian Party of Ohio v Husted, 11-4066. Last year, the Ohio Libertarian Party won injunctive relief, permitting it to be on the 2012 ballot. The Secretary of State did not appeal, and also put the other active minor parties on the 2012 ballot. But the Ohio legislature appealed the case to the 6th circuit. Read more »

Source: Independent Political Report

As of today, I have noticed (h/t George Phillies in IPR comments) that the Libertarian Party’s Official Listing of Candidates Seeking the Libertarian Presidential Nomination has been winnowed to remove quite a few names, including at least one candidate who has participated in debates among the presidential contenders this year, run for public office as a Libertarian before, and Read more »

Source: Independent Political Report

Robby Wells is a former college football coach and now a presidential candidate seeking the nomination of the Constitution Party. It is that latter job title that has gotten him this piece of press.

Most people in the Palmetto State know Robby Wells as the former assistant football coach at the University of South Carolina and at South Carolina State. But Read more »

Source: Independent Political Report

The Reform Party has been on the wane in recent years, with state parties slowly disappearing. However, this article highlights the efforts of some activists to revive the Reform Party of Utah.

“When Ross Perot ran in 1992, there were two states that he came in second in the polls,” said state party organizer Jaime Dives. “One of those states was Maine and Read more »

Source: Nader.org

The editor of The Hill, a newspaper exclusively covering Congress, said that Congress was not going to do very much in 2012, except for “the big bill” which is extending the payroll tax cut and unemployment compensation, which expire in late February. That two month extension will likely reignite the fight between Democrats and Republicans that Read more »

Source: Independent Political Report

We recently posted here at IPR that the incumbent Mayor of Burlington, Vermont, a member of the Progressive Party, was not running for re-election. In the aftermath, plenty of challengers have announced, but the Progressive Party has yet to announce a challenger.

After the caucuses, Vermont Progressive Party Chairwoman Martha Abbott Read more »

Source: Independent Political Report

This article in the Las Vegas Sun cites recent voter registration statistics and points out that the number of non-partisan voters is on the rise, increasing the importance of that voting block.

“Nonpartisan” — sometimes called “independent” in other states — voters have reached their highest share since 1985, which is as far back as available voter Read more »

Source: Independent Political Report

The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania is due to hold its state convention in Wilkes-Barre in April and it’s received some positive attention from the local press.

“We’re hoping to pack the house,” Jasikoff said Thursday. “This could be one of the biggest political events in history for Wilkes-Barre.”

He said Wilkes-Barre was selected during the party’s November meeting in Read more »