Court Opinion

ID: 9643299
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 20:24:47.321218+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:10:54.964783
License: Public Domain

Robert L. Brown, Justice, concurring. I join the major-to vacate the writ of mandamus, and I write only to address the issues relating to the name of the political group and the convention requirement. See Ark. Code Ann. § 7-8-302 (Supp. 2003). Section 7-8-302 does not require that the specific name of the political group be included on the petitions for nomination. Moreover, the style “Presidential Group Candidate Petition” was included on each petition circulated for signatures, which alerted the signers of the petition that they were signing on behalf of a political group. The following steps were taken by the Secretary of State and the Populist Party to comply with § 7-8-302: • On August 11, 2004, the Secretary of State certified 1,234 signatures on the Nader petitions for. a political group known as The Better Life. This was the verification of sufficiency. • On August 24, 2004, the Populist Party advised the Secretary of State that the correct name of the political group is The Populist Party of Arkansas and not The Better Life. Tim Humphries, legal counsel for the Secretary of State, testified at the hearing that there was no problem with changing the name. He also testified that issuing another verification of sufficiency to The Populist Party was not necessary because “it was the same group.” • On August 24, 2004, Jim Macri, party chairman of The Populist Party, wrote to the Secretary of State that “The Populist Party of Arkansas with the slogan ‘The Better Life’ convened and unanimously nominated Ralph Nader . . . and Peter Miguel Camejo” as the nominees for president and vice-president. An amended letter dated August 24, 2004, and filed September 1, 2004, with the Secretary of State added the statement that the Nader petitions had been presented on August 2, 2004, with additional petitions submitted during the ten-day cure period. • On August 24, 2004, the Populist Party, through its party chairman, Jim Macri, advised the Secretary of State of the names of its six presidential electors. Jim Macri testified at the hearing that the convention for The Populist Party was held by conference call on August 24, 2004. He did not recall the timing of when the electors were chosen. Mr. Macri also testified that he selected the delegates for the convention, which was by conference call, and about ten people, though probably four to six people participated. He had a written agenda for the conference call-convention and kept minutes. He used Roberts Rules of Order on how to proceed with the conference call. The General Assembly does not define in § 7-8-302 how a group’s convention is to be held or what comprises a convention. There is no requirement that it be by an assembly of people as opposed to a conference call. As chairman of The Populist Party, Mr. Macri complied with § 7-8-302(5) (E) by writing the Secretary of State and certifying the group’s selection for president and vice-president. The clear intention of § 7-8-302(5) (B) is to allow political groups access to the ballot for president and vice president, if they file a petition on behalf of their candidates with the signatures of one thousand qualified electors. The Populist Party complied with the requirement with signatures of more than one thousand electors. By doing so, it has shown a modicum of support for the group’s candidates, which is what our statute requires.