Third parties could play a lesser role in 2020 campaign
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. โ In close elections, it doesn't take much for third-party candidates to play an outsize role โ as Democrats learned the hard way in 2016. A vital third-party candidate would likely help him tremendously.โBut third-party candidates are facing hurdles that didn't exist four years ago, potentially weakening their impact. In a court decision last week, the Green Party candidate was barred from appearing on Pennsylvaniaโs ballot. โI saw last time, thereโs no hope in a third-party candidate in this basically two-party system that we have. But the presidentโs team, which has denied playing a role in Westโs bid, has done little game-planning for a third-party candidate.
Pennsylvania Democrats notch key election-related court wins
The state Supreme Court, which has a 5-2 Democratic majority, granted the Democratic Partyโs request to order an extension of Pennsylvaniaโs Election Day deadline to count mailed-in ballots. The rulings came amid a flurry of partisan lawsuits and a partisan stalemate over fixing gray areas and glitches exposed during a test-run of Pennsylvania's mail-in voting law during June 2's primary election. Losing Pennsylvania could prove fatal to Bidenโs chances of defeating Trump: No Democrat has won the presidency without winning Pennsylvania since Harry S. Truman in 1948. Democrats and liberal groups cheered the court's decisions on the mail-in voting law. Mail-in voting will help โprotect our right to vote in the most critical election of our lifetimes," NextGen Pennsylvania said.
Green Party candidate is ordered off Pennsylvania ballot
The courtโs two Republicans agreed the Green Party did not meet the law's requirements, but, in a dissenting opinion, said it might be possible to allow the Green Party to fix it retroactively. In this case, Democratic party activists challenged what they said were disqualifying irregularities in how the Green Party filed affidavits for the presidential candidate that is supposed to accompany paperwork with at least 5,000 voter signatures to get on the ballot. Initially, Green Party officials faxed in an affidavit of candidacy for a placeholder candidate โ under whose nominal candidacy the party gathered the signatures โ by the Aug. 3 deadline. โAnd the court said, fax is not good enough,โ said Larry Otter, the lawyer handling the case for the Green Party. Because the placeholder candidate didn't properly submit the affidavit, Hawkins' affidavit is nullified, the majority opinion said.
Texas Supreme Court rules 3 Green Party candidates should be added back to November ballot
T-shirts for sale at the Green Party convention in Houston in 2016. Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas TribuneThe Texas Supreme Court has ordered three Green Party candidates to be restored to the November ballot after Democrats successfully sued to remove them. The Texas Green Party appealed the decision to the state Supreme Court, which ruled Tuesday that the secretary of state โshall immediately take all necessary actions to ensure these candidates appear on theโ November ballot. The Supreme Court did not give its rationale, but said a full opinion was forthcoming. In rejecting the GOP effort earlier this month, the Supreme Court said the party waited too long to raise the issue. The stateโs most populous county, Harris County, wrote to the Supreme Court on Monday saying that โit is too late to make changes,โ even if the court acted that day.
Texas Democrats are successfully suing to kick Green Party candidates off the November ballot
T-Shirts for sale at the Green Party Presidential Convention in Houston on Aug. 5, 2016. Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas TribuneState and national Democrats are waging a legal offensive to kick Green Party candidates off the ballot in some of Texas' highest-profile races this fall and they are seeing success. The Austin-based 3rd Court of Appeals additionally forced the Green Party nominee for railroad commissioner off the ballot. The Democrats are largely targeting Green Party candidates because they have not paid filing fees a new requirement for third parties under a law passed by the Legislature last year. The Green Party argues that the filing fees, which go up to $5,000 for a U.S. Senate race, are an unconstitutional burden. Wakely is probably the best known of the three Green Party candidates who the courts ruled against Wednesday.