PART V. PARTIES

 

Case Notes

 

  State's prohibition on write-in voting, as part of electoralscheme providing constitutionally sufficient ballot access, does not imposeunconstitutional burden on voters' rights under First and FourteenthAmendments.  504 U.S. 428.

 

§11-61  "Political party" defined. (a)  The term "political party" means any party which has qualifiedas a political party under sections 11-62 and 11-64 and has not beendisqualified by this section.  A political party shall be an association ofvoters united for the purpose of promoting a common political end or carryingout a particular line of political policy and which maintains a generalorganization throughout the State, including a regularly constituted centralcommittee and county committees in each county other than Kalawao.

(b)  Any party which does not meet thefollowing requirements or the requirements set forth in sections 11-62 to11-64, shall be subject to disqualification:

(1)  A party must have had candidates running forelection at the last general election for any of the offices listed inparagraph (2) whose terms had expired.  This does not include those officeswhich were vacant because the incumbent had died or resigned before the end ofthe incumbent's term; and

(2)  The party received at least ten per cent of allvotes cast:

(A)  For any of the offices voted upon by allthe voters in the State; or

(B)  In at least fifty per cent of thecongressional districts; or

(3)  The party received at least four per cent of allthe votes cast for all the offices of state senator statewide; or

(4)  The party received at least four per cent of allthe votes cast for all the offices of state representative statewide; or

(5)  The party received at least two per cent of allthe votes cast for all the offices of state senate and all the offices of staterepresentative combined statewide. [L 1970, c 26, pt of §2; am L 1979, c 125,§3(1); am L 1983, c 34, §3; am L 1986, c 323, §1; am L 1997, c 287, §1; am L1999, c 205, §1]

 

Attorney General Opinions

 

  "All votes cast" in determining the qualificationof a political party does not include blank ballots.  Att. Gen. Op. 81-6.

  Change of party name.  Att. Gen. Op. 82-1.