Having repeatedly postponed this fourth installment of my roundup, there's a huge backlog of Nader ballot activity to cover so I'm gonna cut the small-talk to a minimum and dive right in!
Before getting to my (hopefully) popular map of Nader's status nationwide, note that I've decided to defer coverage of four states with filing deadlines on Aug 23-31 (ID, OR, WA, WY) until next week's summary, which I'm determined to deliver on schedule for a change! =) However, the map is up-to-date as of today, Aug 26. So, moving right along..
States are counted for Nader if he's been formally certified (regardless of pending challenges marked by asterisks), if he's expected to appear on a qualified, rightwing Reform Party line (states outlined on the map), or if his campaign has filed 33.3%+ more signatures than required by ballot access law in that state. I had planned to lower this threshold until the fine states of Missouri and Maryland properly disqualified St. Ralph's petitions, which had falsely claimed just slightly below that level of valid signers.
States where petitions have been filed with less than a 1/3 margin for fraud or where uncertified petitions have been challenged are merely noted by diamonds, pending rejection. Nader is considered off the ballot if he has officially failed to meet petition requirements.
! frivolous Nader lawsuits pending |
# appropriate challenges pending |
Note that I will no longer list states in the Nader column unless he has been formally certified, with the exception of those Reform Party states where it appears certain Nader/Camejo will be able to exploit that ballot line. As developments warrant, it's very possible some states will move from their current designation to the other.
With the well-deserved humiliation of St. Ralph failing to qualify for even the alternative "open" debates he has championed now a rather distinct possibility, I've decided to introduce a new feature this week. Assuming he doesn't manage to improperly maneuver onto any ballots from which he's been duly disqualified, the following is the most Ralphie could hope for.
Current Nader Maximum |
Number of States: 37 |
Electoral Votes: 320 |
Popular Vote: 1.833% |
The maximum popular vote percentage is estimated by taking the surely remorseful 2.73% that voted for Ralph Nader in 2000 and reducing them by the number of votes received in states where he's thus far failed to qualify in 2004. The actual Nov 2 vote will almost surely be less.
So, without further ado, let's plunge right in to the state-by-state situation report breakdown!
previously reported states with new activity |
ARIZONA: St. Ralph has filed yet another frivolous lawsuit in the Grand Canyon State, claiming the right to ignore filing deadlines and to recruit unqualified out-of-state petitioners. The incredibly duplicitous and unprincipled Nader vanity campaign previously failed to qualify a petition drive funded by the ultra-conservative former executive director of the Arizona Republican Party Nathan Sproul, bundled with the vicious anti-immigrant initiative Protect Arizona Now by a reactionary GOP consulting firm subcontracter, and represented by former Republican Governor Fife Symington's attorney Lisa Hauser who's associated with numerous other rightwing causes in Arizona. Contrary to the earlier denials of involvement by the same Arno Political Consultants firm that has directed ballot-qualification efforts for GOP icons Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr, Bob Dole, Pete Wilson, and Bob Dornan and whose client list features a virtual Who's Who of the corporate cartels and anti-progressive groups Nader routinely claims to oppose (including U.S. English, the Tobacco Institute, the National Rifle Association, the California Timber Association, Mobil Oil, Occidental Petroleum, Phillip Morris, Wal-Mart, and numerous Republican Party committees), a recent campaign filing revealed St. Ralph's outreach to and coordination with the extreme right wing. (Status: OFF ballot)
ILLINOIS: Ralphie's inadequacies were on full display last week in the Land of Lincoln as the Illinois Board of Elections disqualified his campaign upon finding only 20,182 valid signatures, far short of the required 25,000. The double whammy was completed Monday when U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly rejected the Nader campaign's frivolous lawsuit, though apparently without admonishment for wasting the court's valuable time. An appeal has been lodged, as if the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has nothing better to do than listen to St. Ralph's whining.. (Status: OFF ballot)
MICHIGAN: The Michigan Board of State Canvassers blocked the sneaky Republican petition drive to place Nader/Camejo on the ballot (as a favor to Bush/Cheney) after Democrats catalogued a self-evident pattern of fraud. With the Nader campaign focusing on a frivolous federal lawsuit to get listed as the rightwing Reform Party nominee, the Michigan Republican Party has cast aside all pretense to intervene on behalf of their protégé by filing their own frivolous lawsuit with the Michigan Court of Appeals, which former Gov. Engler unfortunately stacked with GOPers. (Status: OFF ballot, for now)
MISSOURI: The Show Me State rejected Nader's incompetent effort to make the ballot after local election officials could verify only 9,006 valid signatures out of the 12,893 submitted according to the Secretary of State, despite false Nader Republican claims to have filed 14,003 signatures. The campaign has until Aug 28 to file a frivolous lawsuit and Nader spokesman Kevin Zeese ominously warned "we may just do that" .. but it seems unlikely they would succeed when the far more worthy Constitution and Libertarian campaigns easily qualified. (Status: OFF ballot)
NEVADA: Three rightly concerned citizens defrauded by the Nader campaign have properly filed in Carson City District Court to disqualify the Nader petition drive (funded by yet another Republican apparatchik) "so tainted with misrepresentations, falsity, forgery, misconduct and deceit as to taint its integrity in its entirety." (Status: ON ballot, for now)
SOUTH CAROLINA: Nader's petition drive in the Palmetto State failed to qualify when only about 8,000 valid signatures could be verified, well below the 10,000 minimum requirement. Nader campaign officials immediately blamed the Democratic Party for Ralphie's inadequacies and are now grovelling to the rightwing Reform Party in hopes that they might use that ballot line, despite rival claimants in SC. (Status: OFF ballot)
excluding states with deadlines after Aug 21 |
ALASKA: The Nader campaign claims to have filed 5,223 signatures on the Aug 4 deadline attempting to qualify the ridiculously misnamed Populist vanity party Ralph contrived for his election run. That's well above the 2,878 valid signatures required to gain recognition as a "limited" party. (Status: likely ON ballot)
CALIFORNIA: As already covered in separate diaries here and here, Ralphie fell far short of making the Golden State's ballot, with only 82,923 signatures filed against a 153,805 minimum. The consummate failure then went grovelling back to the California Green Party he earlier ridiculed in a fit of petulance, which fittingly slapped Ralphie down as he so richly deserved. (Status: OFF ballot)
CONNECTICUT: Already shamed with the misfortune of being his home state, Connecticut's ballot appears likely to get afflicted by St. Ralph after his "reviled" campaign submitted over 12,000 signatures on Aug 4 to meet a 7,500 validated requirement. (Status: likely ON ballot)
DELAWARE: On Aug 15 Nader accepted the nomination of the obviously deranged Independent Party of Delaware that has about 260 names on its membership list. In 2000 the lunatic fringe party leader declared "I'm in this because we are the most uninformed and misinformed people in the world" .. which 2,883,105 voters promptly attempted to confirm by casting ballots for Nader/LaDuke. (Status: ON ballot)
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: The media seems to be ignoring Nader's Aug 17 filing in the District, and so does just about everyone else. The Naderite effort turned in about 5,000 signatures on 390 petition sheets and that should be enough for the 3,600 to qualify (especially since under DC rules no one will bother verifying them unless anyone bothers challenging them). (Status: probably ON ballot)
IOWA: The Hawkeye State's Nader Republicans submitted 3,198 signatures on Aug 12 collected at Cheney rallies and other such events. A valiant Drake University journalism professor filed a well-researched objection, which state law required to be heard by Secretary of State Chet Culver, Attorney General Tom Miller and Auditor David Vaudt. The challenge by Lee Jolliffe asserts only a bit more than 1,300 signatures are legitimate, short of the 1,500 required to qualify. The Nader petition included numerous instances of illegible names, names not matching addresses, addresses that don't exist, altered signatures, multiple names in the same handwriting, and "a stunning percentage" of unregistered voters. Joliffe added that of the signatures she believes are legitimate, most were signed by registered Republicans. She personally did the research, with the help of some friends. [the challenge has been rejected - see this diary] (Status: ON ballot)
MAINE: The ME Elections Division prematurely certified 4,128 signatures filed Aug 16 to run Nader/Camejo as nominees of The Better Life Party, evidently a reference to The Better Life for America that St. Ralph wants to spoil by throwing the election to George Bush. After exhaustive review uncovered numerous irregularities, such as duplicate and fraudulent signatures as well as unregistered names and misleading circulators, the inspirational Stopnader.com PAC challenged 550 signatures, with Nader clinging from disqualification by only a slim 128 signature margin. The petition drive will also get disqualified if it's revealed that Nader sycophant Peter Camejo has not disenrolled from the Green Party in compliance with ME ballot access law. (Status: ON ballot, at the moment)
MARYLAND: Having duly verified only 9,463 signatures out of the 15,094 submitted (a pathetic 63% validation rate), the Maryland Board of Elections disqualified Nader from the state's ballot. Though undeserving, St. Ralph will still be permitted to share write-in status with the more worthy Lawson Mitchell Bone of TN and Theodis Brown Sr of MO. (Status: OFF ballot)
MASSACHUSETTS: The attempt to inflict Ralph Nader on the ballot in John Kerry's glorious home state is "in serious trouble" according to Secretary of State William Galvin, because of his loser campaign's inability to follow the law. Although supporters claim over 14,000 signatures were filed, most of them were received after the legal deadline and therefore cannot be legally counted. (Status: probably OFF ballot)
MONTANA: Although the rightwing Reform Party is ballot-qualified, the Nader campaign claims to have filed either 7,900 or 8,900 signatures depending on whichever alleged figure is accurate (probably neither). In any case, a call to the MT Elections Bureau reveals that 6,358 have been verified, easily meeting the 5,000 minimum to qualify as an independent. (Status: ON ballot)
NEW HAMPSHIRE: The not-so-stealth Nader Republican ballot campaign in the Granite State recruited like-minded Republicans organizing Bush rally petition drives in a seemingly adequate effort to inflict St. Ralph onto the NH ballot. On Aug 11 an unverified total of 5,844 signatures were filed with 3,043 in the 1st District and 2,801 in the 2nd District .. 1,500 minimum are required in each to qualify. New Hampshire Democrats have filed an FEC complaint thoroughly documenting an "unlawful in-kind contribution" presumably invalidating the entire Nader petition scheme. Specifically, George Bush Sr's White House political director Dave Carney, owner of the ultra-conservative Norway Hill Associates consultant firm, in tandem with the shady Choices for America rightwing nonprofit, founded by Nevada-based GOP consultant Steve Wark, orchestrated and coordinated an illegal ballot drive in unholy union with St. Ralph's contemptible vanity campaign. (Status: likely ON ballot, unless justice is served)
NEW YORK: The Nader campaign filed about 27,500 signatures on Aug 18 supporting his scheme to make the ballot as the non-factor nominee of the newly minted Peace & Freedom Party .. evidently a reference to the Peace & Freedom St. Ralph hopes will be lost if his quest to elect George Bush proves successful. Although the Empire State requires only 15,000 valid registered voter signatures to qualify, the complex ballot access regulations leave open the possibility that his highly inept campaign stooges will once again fail. (Status: probably ON ballot)
OHIO: In what could be ground zero for Nader's campaign to throw the election to George Bush, Nader Republicans and diehard Ralphnuts filed 14,473 signatures on Aug 18, almost triple the 5,000 that must be verified by county boards of elections in order to make the ballot. The Democratic Party will be very aggressive in exposing the usual Nader fraud but there's at best a slim chance they might succeed (despite the criminal tendencies of St. Ralph's henchmen) at uncovering enough violations of Ohio guidelines: all signatures must be in cursive, only one person may distribute each petition, only one county may be reflected in each petition, only registered OH voters may circulate petitions. However, initial reports (a stunning 96% invalid in Butler Co that covers part of the Cincinnati suburbs) are looking mighty good. (Status: likely ON ballot)
PENNSYLVANIA: Coordinated challenges have been filed in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh after an exhaustive investigation uncovered "forged signatures, missing addresses, unreadable names or addresses, incomplete information, missing dates of signatures and signers not being a registered voter ... a wide-ranging and extensive pattern of false and forged entries, entries obtained through [the] deception of signers and whole pages of outright forged signatures" - as we've seen nationwide, just par for the course when dealing with the deadbeat, criminal Nader campaign. In any case, simultaneous hearings at different locations before at least 5 Commonwealth Court judges have been scheduled for Sept 3, when judges will scrutinize fraudulent Nader petitions. A possible shortcut has been agreed to where a random sample of 500 signatures will be examined and if 70% are found to be fraudulent or otherwise invalid, the duplicitous Nader "might" throw in the towel (I don't know why anyone would trust St. Ralph's word). Meanwhile, the rightful review of Nader's petition drive has raised two additional objections that should derail Ralphie in the Keystone State: under PA law independents may not have been members of another party during the election year or seek the nomination of any other party. Nader sycophant Peter Camejo was registered to vote in California as a member of the Green Party despite lying on his Pennsylvania affidavit claiming not to have been member of a party, and Nader/Camejo have filed suit in Michigan seeking ballot access as nominees of the rightwing Reform Party. (Status: possibly OFF ballot, when all is said and done)
SOUTH DAKOTA: Apparently having verified 3,346 signatures, the SD state election supervisor has certified Ralph Nader to appear as an independent presidential candidate (Status: ON ballot).
TENNESSEE: The Volunteer State provides such a pointlessly low ballot access requirement (11 petitions with 25 registered TN voter signatures each, with the same voters permitted to sign all 11) that even a pointless candidate like St. Ralph shouldn't have any problem meeting it. Sure enough, he filed on Aug 20 alongside five much more worthwhile and principled minor candidates. (Status: almost certain ON ballot)
UTAH: There aren't any media reports covering Nader's Aug 16 Utah filing, probably because no one really cares, but a call to the State Elections Office confirms that about 1,700 signatures were submitted pending verification to meet a 1,000 minimum requirement. (Status: likely ON ballot)
VIRGINIA: After an initial rejection of the Nader campaign's improperly filed petitions upon equitable guidance from the senior deputy attorney general, VA's hyperpartisan Republican AG Jerry Kilgore intervened to compel the State Board of Elections to give his ally St. Ralph an unfair exemption from guidelines that were good enough for the Constitution and Libertarian parties, but too good for him. Although this subversion of rules that applied for everyone else did preempt the filing of yet another frivolous lawsuit, it's unclear that the 12,923 submitted signatures will provide enough margin for fraud to meet a 10,000 verified minimum, with at least 400 from each of 11 congressional districts. The 22.6% invalidation rate that would disqualify Nader's improper filing is well below that seen in most other states to date, and VA Democrats are wisely insisting voter registrars across the Commonwealth carefully scrutinize petitions for the typical fraud that even a superficial glance routinely uncovers throughout Nader filings. In a late-breaking development, VA Dems (backed by the great Governor Mark Warner) have filed protest challenging the iniquity of St. Ralph's preferential treatment at the expense of legitimate candidates that abide by the law. (Status: probably OFF ballot)
WEST VIRGINIA: Attorney General Darrell McGraw has filed appropriate legal action to disqualify Nader upon the request of Secretary of State Joe Manchin citing evidence of criminal misconduct on the part of ultra-conservative political consulting firm subcontractors JSM Inc, hired by the Nader campaign to direct his ballot effort in the Mountain State. Leaving aside the eager Bush rally petitioners, an alarming pattern of fraudulent deception has reached the notice of officials statewide casting major doubt on the validity of this entire Nader Republican petition drive. A separate lawsuit alleging the SoS failed to investigate how Nader's campaign obtained the 15,302 certified signatures (minimum 12,962 required), or to refer the matter to the attorney general's office for an investigation was set aside when Manchin did just that. (Status: technically ON ballot, for now)
corrections to previously reported states |
ARKANSAS: Not exactly an erratum, but more of an oversight. Although only 1,095 signatures had been submitted as of the Aug 2 filing deadline (as previously reported), candidates are permitted to continue petitioning for an additional month. In any case, election officials certified Nader for the ballot after Nader Republicans rallied to help St. Ralph help George Bush's election campaign. The 1,234 signatures to list Nader as The Better Life Party nominee include many notorious Republicans, such as: former GOP state senator Doyle Webb II, chief of staff to state Republican Party chairman Win Rockefeller, the state's lieutenant governor; GOP state Rep. Michael Lamoureaux; Little Rock GOP chairwoman Martha McCaskill; five minions of the Republican Party's coordinated campaign; and former state GOP chairwoman Phyllis Kincannon. (Status: ON ballot)