Friday, November 27, 2009

SC Green Party ballot access case: oral arguments scheduled

Tthe South Carolina Supreme Court has scheduled oral argument in the case of Tempel v. Platt case for 9:30 am on January 6, 2010 in Columbia. The exact location will be announced later, and posted on this website. All interested parties are invited to attend. Representatives of the SC Green Party will certainly be there.

Richard Winger of Ballot Access News recently summarized the issues of the case:


The Green Party nominated Eugene Platt for state legislature on May 3, 2008, at a convention. The next month, Platt was defeated for the Democratic Party nomination for the same seat. South Carolina permits fusion, so Platt had been hoping to be the nominee of both parties in November. Because he lost the Democratic nomination in June, the Green Party nomination was considered void by the state, and Platt was omitted from the November ballot entirely. The state’s brief mostly ignores Platt’s strongest precedent, called California Democratic Party v Jones, the U.S. Supreme Court 2000 decision that said it is unconstitutional for a state to force a party to let outsiders help determine its nominee. Platt argues that since the Democratic Party was permitted to cancel out his Green Party nomination, the South Carolina system (as appled to instances when a minor party nominates first, before a major party nominating event) violates the principles set forth in California Democratic Party v Jones.


This case is also known as "South Carolina Green Party v South Carolina State Election Commission". The names of cases pursued to appeal from state level and on the federal courts are frequently referred to to the names of the litigants.

More: Archive for the ‘South Carolina Green Party v South Carolina State Election Commission’ Category

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Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Greenville Chapter Meeting November 18 at The Open Book

The Greenville chapter of the SC Green Party is set to meet Wednesday, November 18th from 7 to 8 PM at The Open Book, located at 110 South Pleasantburg Drive, Greenville, S. C. 29607 (map).

All meetings are open to the public. Suggestions for items for the Coordinating Committee agenda can be mailed to the SC Green Party Steering Committee at scgreenpartyinfo@earthlink.net.

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SC Green Party Ballot Access Case Moves Ahead

The state of SC has filed its appellate brief in our ongoing ballot access case. Richard Winger's excellent Ballot Access News has posted the following analysis as well as a link to the 33 page brief.

In 2006, James Island Public Service District Commissioner Eugene Platt, running as a Democrat, came within 60 votes of defeating the GOP incumbent in SC House District 115. In 2008, Mr. Platt secured the Green Party nomination, before being excluded from the ballot by the SC State Election Commission after losing the district Democratic primary. Today, Eugene is once again seeking the District 115 seat, running solely as a Green.

Get involved in Eugene Platt's campaign by visiting http://voteplatt.com/contact.php.
You can donate to Eugene's campaign here: http://voteplatt.com/donate.php



From BallotAccessNews.org:

South Carolina Files Brief in Opposition to Green Party Arguments in Ballot Access Case


November 17th, 2009

On November 16, attorneys for the state of South Carolina filed this brief in the lawsuit South Carolina Green Party v South Carolina State Election Commission, pending in the 4th circuit.

The Green Party nominated Eugene Platt for state legislature on May 3, 2008, at a convention. The next month, Platt was defeated for the Democratic Party nomination for the same seat. South Carolina permits fusion, so Platt had been hoping to be the nominee of both parties in November. Because he lost the Democratic nomination in June, the Green Party nomination was considered void by the state, and Platt was omitted from the November ballot entirely. The state’s brief mostly ignores Platt’s strongest precedent, called California Democratic Party v Jones, the U.S. Supreme Court 2000 decision that said it is unconstitutional for a state to force a party to let outsiders help determine its nominee. Platt argues that since the Democratic Party was permitted to cancel out his Green Party nomination, the South Carolina system (as appled to instances when a minor party nominates first, before a major party nominating event) violates the principles set forth in California Democratic Party v Jones.

The state argues that Platt knew he was jeopardizing his Green Party nomination by running in the Democratic primary, and if he wanted to guarantee his Green Party nomination he should have avoided seeking the Democratic nomination. One wonders, what is the purpose of South Carolina’s fusion law, if not to encourage (rather than discourage) candidates from trying to use it.

The state’s brief also has a factual error on page 23. It says the U.S. Taxpayers Party nominated Pat Buchanan for president in 1996. This is not true. The U.S. Taxpayers Party only held one presidential convention in 1996, in San Diego, in August 1996, and it nominated Howard Phillips for President.

Source:
http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/11/17/south-carolina-files-brief-in-opposition-to-green-party-arguments-in-ballot-access-case/

SC appellee's brief:
http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/026-Brief-of-Appellees.pdf

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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Chapter and Coordinating Committee meetings in November

The South Carolina Green Party has no candidates in Tuesday's elections. Most of these elections are city council and school board elections. There are, however, several candidates set to run in 2010.

The Charleston Green Party has their next meeting scheduled Monday, November 2, 7pm at Earth Fare on Folly Road Blvd.

In addition, the next SCGP Coordinating Committee meeting is Saturday, November 14, 1-3pm, at the at the new Black Caucus Community Center, 2523 Read Street, Columbia, SC 29204. All are welcome to attend.

Finally, the Greenville chapter is set to meet Wednesday, November 18th from 7 to 8 PM at The Open Book, located at 110 South Pleasantburg Drive, Greenville, S. C. 29607

All meetings are open to the public. Suggestions for items for the Coordinating Committee agenda can be mailed to the SC Green Party Steering Committee.

Friday, November 06, 2009

Greenline - Special Edition: Post-Election report from Green Party of the United States

Greens Make a Difference in November 3 Elections
Green Party: GP.org

The Green Party made some big new moves and proved that it has earned the voter's support in Tuesday's local elections.

Greens in California made history again by winning, for the fourth time in American history, a majority on a town council. Pam Hartwell-Herrero finished first of seven candidates to join Lew Treamine and Larry Bragman on the majority-Green Fairfax Town Council. Greens also earned majorities on the Arcata, CA council in the late 90s and in Sebastopol, CA and the village of New Paltz, NY earlier in this decade.

In Minnesota, incumbent Minneapolis City Council Cam Gordon was re-elected, as well as long-time Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board member Annie Young.

Greens on the East Coast showed their skills with perfect election nights. Two candidates ran for city councils in Maryland and both were victorious. Dan Robinson maintained his seat on the Takoma Park, MD council and Christine Nagle won her election to the College Park, MD council. In New Caanan, CT, three Greens ran for Constable and all were elected.

Elsewhere in new England, Kevin Donoghue and David Marshall won re-election to the Portland (ME) City Council. Chuck Turner was re-elected to the Boston City Council.

In New York, in a partisan race, Mary Jo Long was re-elected to the Afton Town Council and Jennifer Dotson was re-elected to the Ithaca Common Council. Lynne Serpe put the Green Party on the map in New York City, winning nearly 25% in her race for New York City Council.

To see more 2009 election results, visit http://www.gp.org/elections/2009-videos/november-results.html. To get a sneak preview of the 2010 Green Party candidates from your area, visit the Green Party's comprehensive election database at http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml.

New On-Line Issue of Green Pages Available
Green Pages, the national newsletter of the Green Party, is releasing new content regularly through our on-line edition.
Check out the Fall 2009 edition here.

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Monday, November 02, 2009

SC Greens prepare for demonstration at School of the Assassins

The "School of the Americas", now re-named the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, is better known to many as the School of the Assassins because many graduates from this training facility based at Fort Benning in Georgia have been involved in military and para-military coups. The most recent such coup was in Honduras.

Members of the South Carolina Green Party will be traveling to Fort Benning on Saturday, November 21st to join Greens and others from across the southeast and the nation to press for the closure of the facility. Others will be there for the full three day protest.

Those interested in joining or supporting this effort are encouraged to contact the steering committee.

Steering Committee needs new member

The South Carolina Green Party Steering Committee has met monthly for the past several months, both by conference call and in face to face meetings. The Steering Committee is responsible for the growth and day to day operation of the state party. There are currently six members. Two are from the Columbia area, two from the Charleston area, one from the Greenville area, and one from the Spartanburg area.

The Steering Committee needs one more person to fill out it's ranks. The by-laws call for the party to make an effort to establish both racial and gender diversity. The steering committee members also agree that geographic diversity is important. With only one woman on the steering committee it is evident that the committee needs more women involved.

More importantly though, the committee needs active members who can provide leadership.

Membership on the steering committee requires regular participation in email discussions as well as regular attendance at two face to face meetings and one conference call per quarter. Between meeting phone calls between members is common as well. face to face meetings are most often held in Columbia, although other locations can be considered as well.

If you know anyone who is dedicated to the Ten Key Values of the Green Party, and who might be interested in helping guide the South Carolina Green Party for the next several months, please send a message to the steering committee.

Visit the new South Carolina Green Party web log at

http://scgreenparty.org

This blogger site is no longer being updated. It is an archive for posts made from 2006 - 2009. Entries for 2010 exist on both sites.

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Donate to the South Carolina Green Party
$25 = one year SCGP dues and supports independent politics in South Carolina.

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