[conspire] Presidential primary election notes revised

[Rick Moen]

Quoting Steve M Bibayoff (bibayoff at gmail.com):
> On Mon, Jun 13, 2016 at 1:20 AM, Rick Moen <rick at linuxmafia.com> wrote:
> > Total California AIP voters:            457,173
> 
> The  LA Times had a write up about the American Independent Party on
> how a lot of people mistaken signed up for the party, thinking they
> were registering as independent.

Not in any way objecting to your point, but I _did_ mention the LA Times
investigation in my first post on the impending election on May 23rd.

Quoted without further comment (but note date of my posting), a comment
on the matter to the Ex-VA Linux Systems employees' mailing list:


Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:46:01 -0700
From: Rick Moen <rick at linuxmafia.com>
To: evals at lists.merlins.org
Subject: How to remain on a state ballot

A few years ago, while researching the "County Political Parties" 
entries in http://linuxmafia.com/~rick/household.html, 
I uncovered something that might amuse:

Ever wonder about why the "American Independent Party" (ex-George
Wallace) remains on all California partisan-office ballots, even though
there's been no such party organisation in the state for 30+ years?

It's because a Bircher outfit called "Constitution Party" (primarily in
Colorado, Montana, and western Pennsylvania) kept it on the ballots (as
a sort of brand name) to function as an _idiot trap_.  That is, it's
listed solely in order to attract votes from citizens attempting to vote
"independent" but unclear on the concept of how that actually works.
Said voters see the word "independent" in close association with
nationalism, mark that entry, and never realise they've voted for a
party -- and Constitution Party gets their vote.

In this way, Constitution Party remained (albeit under a different name)
permanently on the California ballot and in the public's eye, even
though they had nothing like the 1% registration statewide that's
required to be _added_ to the ballot:  State law requires that a
returning party merely never fall below 1/15% of state registered voters
in any subsequent general election, and accidental votes from morons
helped Constitution Party stick around.

I say "remained", because, in 2006, Constitution Party split because
candidates in several states cautiously allowed as how abortions _might_
be justified in cases of rape, incest, and abortions performed to save
the life of the mother, leading to a big fight and numerous states'
parties disaffiliating because the central organisation isn't wacko
enough.  The California branch is one of the many that left, and
re-dubbed itself "America's Independent Party".  _It_ now operates the
ex-Wallace American Independent Party "franchise" within California.

(Repeal the income tax, and protect our Precious Bodily Fluids!)

http://www.selfgovernment.us/
http://www.ballot-access.org/2008/08/26/keyes-wins-california-lawsuit-on-procedural-issues/