Tag Archives: Green Party

Federal judge rules for third parties in petition access lawsuit

Posted on July 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see how much difference this makes. A federal judge in Austin has blocked Texas from enforcing a more than century-old state law that requires third-party candidates to collect petition signatures on paper to qualify for a place on the … Continue reading →

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GOP seeks to knock Libertarians off the ballot

Posted on August 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

They tried this in 2020 with no success, but might be better positioned this year. Texas Republicans have filed a petition to knock 23 Libertarian candidates off the November ballot for not paying their filing fees. On August 8, 23 … Continue reading →

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Bloomberg drops some money in the RRC race

Posted on October 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I have four things to say about this. Billionaire Michael Bloomberg has made a late donation of $2.6 million to the Democratic nominee for railroad commissioner, Chrysta Castañeda, providing a massive fundraising boost in a race for the oil and … Continue reading →

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A matter of timing

Posted on September 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the stated reason why SCOTX overturned the earlier decision that booted three Green Party candidates off the ballot. The Texas Supreme Court in a new opinion Friday explained its decision to reinstate to the November ballot Green Party candidates … Continue reading →

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The Green Party owes Ken Paxton a thank-you note

Posted on September 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

He did them a solid, that’s for sure. In the legal fight to exclude minor party candidates from the November ballot, Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton took a flexible view of time and deadlines. After the Texas GOP filed suit … Continue reading →

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SCOTX puts Greens back on the ballot

Posted on September 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

That sound you hear is my head spinning. The Texas Supreme Court has ordered three Green Party candidates to be restored to the November ballot after Democrats successfully sued to remove them. Last month, a state appeals court sided with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

State appeals court rules (mostly) against Libertarians in filing fee lawsuit

Posted on September 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the story. It gets into the legal weeds, and I’m going to try my best to clear them out. A state appellate court this week upheld a 2019 law that extended a requirement that candidates pay a filing fee … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Libertarians will stay on the ballot

Posted on September 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, Republicans. You were too late after all. The Texas Supreme Court on Saturday rejected an attempt by Republicans to kick 44 Libertarians off the ballot in the November elections. Several Republican Party candidates and organizations had sued to remove … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

More on the Republican attempt to defenestrate the Libertarians

Posted on September 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From the Statesman: Republican candidates and organizations are asking the Texas Supreme Court to remove 41 members of the Libertarian Party from the November ballots. All of the Libertarians are ineligible to run, the GOP argues, because they failed to … Continue reading →

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Republicans try and fail to remove Libertarian candidates from the ballot

Posted on August 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Patrick Svitek: . Texas appeals court rejects last-minute lawsuits by @NRCC, @TravisGOP to kick Libertarian candidates off November ballot for not paying filing fees: http://search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=fee8c1fc-f70a-4d57-baf0-5775ccdea786&coa=coa03&DT=Opinion&MediaID=9242cd19-73c0-441c-bc1f-786be9ec000f — Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) 12:00 AM – 26 August 2020 The Third Court of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Weekend voting litigation news

Posted on August 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I have two news items about voting-related lawsuits. Both of these come via the Daily Kos Voting Rights Roundup, which has been increasingly valuable to me lately, given the sheer number of such lawsuits and the fact that some news … Continue reading →

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Further thoughts on the Dems defenestrating the Green candidates

Posted on August 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

But first, the Chron story about yesterday’s legal action. An appellate court on Wednesday blocked three Green Party candidates from the November ballot because they failed to pay candidate filing fees. The candidates are David Collins, who was running for … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

More challenges to Green Party candidates

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Patrick Svitek: . @ChrystaForTexas, @wendydavis sue to remove their Green Party opponents from the ballot, saying they didn’t pay filing fees on time: http://search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=6f9426d1-7b86-4718-b99a-8356e5d806a6&coa=coa03&DT=Brief&MediaID=297d5426-ee45-4039-8bfc-dc8891686f76 The Green Party candidate in Davis’ race is @Wakely2020, who was the 2016 Democratic nominee … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Green Party candidate for Supreme Court withdraws

Posted on August 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not an election without a bit of ballot drama. Charles Waterbury, the Green Party candidate for Texas Supreme Court chief justice, has dropped out of the race after an opponent questioned his eligibility to run. Waterbury’s withdrawal notice was … Continue reading →

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The fifty percent challenge

Posted on July 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

An interesting point from Amy Walters. President Trump is at the most precarious political moment of his presidency. Or at least, the most precarious since the summer and fall of 2017 when, in the wake of Charlottesville, the failure to … Continue reading →

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That’s a weird definition of “thriving”

Posted on December 29, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Surrounded by fellow Libertarians during a 2018 election night watch party at a rented Airbnb in Fort Worth, Eric Espinoza, who was running for state Rep. Jonathan Stickland’s seat, saw a Facebook … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

I’m not that worried about the Green Party effect in Texas

Posted on September 29, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not nothing, but it’s unlikely to be much. Texas House Bill 2504, passed along party lines by the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature in May and signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in June, lowers the threshold that minor political parties … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Libertarians and Greens sue over the petition process for ballot access

Posted on July 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see about this. Ahead of the 2020 election cycle, a group of Texans, along with a number of nonmajor political parties, have sued the secretary of state’s office, alleging that Texas election law discriminates against third-party and independent candidates … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

A strange way to improve ballot access

Posted on May 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Hard not to see partisan motives in this. A bill on track to reach Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk appears designed to make it easier for Green Party candidates and harder for Libertarian candidates to get on the Texas ballot in … Continue reading →

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No Greens

Posted on June 1, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t honestly say I’m sorry. When Texans head to the ballot box this November, they’ll be able to vote for Republicans, Democrats or Libertarians. If they want to choose a candidate affiliated with another political group, they might have to … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Don’t expect the Kathie Glass effect to be much

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like every four years we talk about the possible effect of third party candidates on various races. Usually, it’s in the context of legislative races, where some candidates have won with less than 50% in recent years and one … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Third parties revisited

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Politico has a question. Is Austin’s Travis County the nation’s Libertarian Party stronghold? The co-founders of a Libertarian political action committee based there make that case, arguing that the Texas locale is the “most Libertarian large county in America.” Wes … Continue reading →

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The third parties

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

While I work my way through the precinct data in Harris County, we can keep looking at the county data for Texas from last week’s election. Here are the top and bottom ten counties by percentage of the vote for … Continue reading →

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Roseanne!

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Meet your newest Presidential wannabe. The Associated Press and TMZ are reporting that comedienne and self-proclaimed “domestic goddess” Roseanne Barr has filed documents to run for president. Apparently, she thinks that only a woman can solve this nation’s problems. Check … Continue reading →

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Interview with Amy Price

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Also running in At Large #4 is Amy Price, who is running under the auspices of the Green Party. Price is a violin teacher and professional musician who has performed with such bands as Gordian Knot, The Buddhacrush, and Orange … Continue reading →

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Interview with Don Cook

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Also running in At Large #1 is Don Cook, who does not currently have a website. Cook ran for this office in 2009 as a member of the Progressive Coalition. He was also the Green Party candidate for Harris County … Continue reading →

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From the “Grant me the grace to accept the things I cannot change” department

Posted on November 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

What’s that old saying? “Could be worse. Could be raining.” As Democrats around the country girded for a midterm GOP tsunami, Bill White and his down-ballot Democratic cohorts spent the weekend tacking up political plywood and looking for signs, any … Continue reading →

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Arizona Green Party sues to kick its own candidates off the ballot

Posted on September 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Just when you think you’ve seen it all… The state Democratic Party is alleging possible voter fraud in what it called a scheme to undermine its candidates by recruiting “sham” Green Party hopefuls. In a complaint filed late Monday, the … Continue reading →

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Dems drop effort to remove Greens from the ballot

Posted on July 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

After the initial Supreme Court ruling, it was probably a long shot. The Texas Democratic Party today cleared the way for Green Party candidates to remain on the ballot this year by dropping its state Supreme Court challenge to the … Continue reading →

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Revisiting the Libertarian effect

Posted on July 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

While we still don’t know what the deal will be with the Green Party, we may wonder what of that other third party on the ballot? Ross Ramsey takes a look at the Libertarian Party and the effect its candidates … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Supremes give Greens a reprieve

Posted on July 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

They’re on the ballot for now. The Texas Supreme Court today stayed a district judge’s order blocking the Green Party of Texas from certifying its candidates for the general election ballot. The order allows the Green Party to legally establish … Continue reading →

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Green Party appeals to Supreme Court

Posted on June 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. Even if allegations about an illegal petition drive are true, knocking Green Party candidates off the November general election ballot before they can be proven imposes “a death penalty,” lawyers for the party argued Monday in a written … Continue reading →

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Greens booted from the ballot

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

A judge in Austin has ruled in favor of the Texas Democratic Party in a motion to bar the Green Party from the ballot this fall on the grounds that the funds used to collect their signatures were illegal corporate … Continue reading →

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Greens hire Andy Taylor

Posted on June 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Dear Green Party: If you need to hire Andy Taylor to achieve your political goals, then you’re doing it wrong. I just thought you’d like to know that.

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments