Arndt Switch Prompted by Last-Minute Democratic Caller

Oh ho! The story turns! Secretary of State Chris Nelson gives Kevin Woster his version of events of what led to Lieutenant Governor candidate Ben Arndt's last-minute conversion to the party nominating him. Secretary Nelson swears up and down that his call Friday to the Heidepriem-Arndt campaign was motivated by his fair reading of the law, not political chicanery. Given Nelson's clean track record as Secretary of State and willingness to torque off even members of his own party in the cause of upholding electoral law, his claim is not to be dismissed lightly.

Nelson does dismiss my thesis (and Heidepriem's) that SDCL 12-6-3.2, which says the party can only nominate its members for office, only applies to primary elections, not convention nominations. And then Nelson tells Woster something really interesting:

...[Nelson] presumed after he read in the Rapid City Journal (OK, or maybe some other news source) about Heidepriem picking Arndt for his LG mate that they would check the law and figure out they couldn’t do that.

“They have smart people working on that campaign. I just assumed that was one of the things he’d get done before the convention,” Nelson said.

Nelson said he took some calls checking on that point after Heidepriem picked Arndt. And he got a call from a Democrat at their convention in Sioux Falls last Friday afternoon as he was driving to the GOP state convention in Huron.

“I told them what the statute says and how we interpreted it,” Nelson said. “My assumption was that by then Mr. Arndt had changes his party registration.”

When Nelson found out otherwise, he notified the Democratic caller that it should be done ASAP [Kevin Woster, "And the Secretary of State Repsonds," Mount Blogmore, 2010.06.29].

Holy buckets! Was this minor excitement actually provoked by a trouble-maker from the Democratic Party? If so, mystery caller, give me a call! I want to shake your hand! After a weekend of tight party discipline determined to manage the message and not make waves, I am actually pleased to hear someone in our party shook things up, brought a potential legal complication to light, and got Ben to join the right party.

Now don't think I'm changing my mind on the Heidepriem-Arndt ticket. I still think Team Heidepriem could have made a strong case for its interpretation of electroal law, and they certainly did not make this decision lightly or inattentively (contrary to the GOP's efforts to keep squeezing juice out of this story). Secretary Nelson has at least made a reasonable case to the contrary, that statute does require constitutional officers to be members of the parties nominating them.

By making his or her call on Friday afternoon, some lucky Democrat provoked a chain of events that on the whole boosts the Heidepriem-Arndt ticket. I could feel it Saturday. I was not the only person in the convention hall feeling a little sheepish about cheering for a Republican at our podium. When Heidepriem announced that Arndt was South Dakota's newest Democrat, he gave the party faithful reason to cheer and give the ticket that much more support.

Meanwhile, outside the hall, Arndt can still portray himself as a candidate for whom party affiliation isn't that big a deal. He picked being able to participate in the process and work to solve South Dakota's problems over clinging to an old affiliation on some card. Well played, Mr. Arndt!

Secretary Nelson Says Law Demanded Arndt Switch: Which Law?

Secretary of State Chris Nelson weighs in on the GOP's gamesmanship on Ben Arndt's political affiliation:

Secretary of State Chris Nelson said Democrats were told Heidepriem's running mate would have to register as a Democrat.

"There's a state law that says if you're going to be nominated as a candidate of the party, you have to be a member of that party," Nelson said Saturday in Huron, where he was attending the Republican State Convention. "It's been on the books forever" [Wayne Ortman, "Lieutenant Governor Candidate Switches to Dems," Rapid City Journal, 2010.06.26]

Now I'll admit, I thought there might be such a rule. Requiring Democratic nominees to be Democrats sounds like common sense. We require it of our Party officials.

But whatever books Secretary Nelson says he's reading, I can't find them or this alleged rule anywhere online. I know the question is moot with Arndt's switch to the right party, but the question remains intriguing... especially given that either I or Secretary Nelson is quite clearly and publicly wrong. Here's a breakdown of the relevant Party rules and statutes I can find:

Secretary Nelson is likely referring to this statute, SDCL 12-6-3.2:

No person may sign a declaration of candidacy or be nominated as a political candidate for a party unless that person is a registered voter with that party affiliation.

If this is the statute Secretary Nelson is citing, it appears to have been on the books since 1998, somewhat short of "forever." But notice that dot before the 2? This statute appears in Chapter 12-6 on Primary Elections. There's room for arugment here, but if I were lawyering up, I'd place my bets that a rule written in a chapter on primary elections applies strictly to primary elections.

No other statute or party rule appears to support the argument that a party nominee for a constitutional, non-primary office must be a registered member of the party. To wit:

South Dakota Codified Law 12-5-21:

Nomination of state candidates not voted on at primary--Presidential electors and national committee members. The state convention shall nominate candidates for lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer, commissioner of school and public lands, and public utilities commissioner and in the years when a President of the United States is to be elected, presidential electors and national committeeman and national committeewoman of the party.

No mention of party affiliation. And note this is a separate SDCL chapter on Political Parties and Party Affairs.

South Dakota Democratic Party Constitution, Article I, Sections 1 and 2:

SECTION 1: Any person 18 years of age, who is a registered Democrat in South Dakota may participate fully in any public Party meetings and be elected to any Party office, except where specifically prohibited by law.

SECTION 2: All meetings at all levels of the Democratic Party are open to all members of the Democratic Party of South Dakota.

...elected to Party office... That means positions like precinct commitee member, county chair or treasurer (like me!), or state chair. Lieutenant governor is a Constitutional office, not a Party office.

SDDP Const, XIII.10:

In addition to the members listed previously in this Article, all Democrats who are currently serving as an elected State-wide Constitutional officer, an elected member of the Public Utilities Commission, the floor leader of the Senate and House, or as a member of the U. S. Congress shall have voting privileges on the Executive Board.

Close, but no banana: this rule says a lieutenant governor has to be a Democrat to participate as a voting member alongside the Party officers of the Executive Board. But it does not stop us from nominating a non-Democrat to the lieutenant governor's position; we can nominate and elect such a candidate, but when he shows up at an Executive Board meeting, we simply say, "Sorry, pal; no vote for you."

SDDP Const, IX.18-19:

SECTION 18: The State Convention shall nominate candidates for Lieutenant Governor, and other constitutional offices as proposed by the pre-convention caucus.. In the years when a President of the United States is to be elected, the Convention shall nominate Presidential Electors and National Committeewoman and Committeeman of the Party.

SECTION 19: Nominations shall be made by majority vote of the votes cast, and shall be certified to the Secretary of State by the officials of the Convention, immediately at the close of the Convention.

These sections say nothing about party affiliation of the nominees. Convention officials certify the vote and send it to the Secretary of State.

Dear readers, I welcome further reading and interpretation of state election law and party rules. Knock yourselves out... after you've finished picking up branches and mowing the yard.

Why Yes, Ben Arndt Is a Dem. What Are You Republicans Afraid Of?

South Dakota Democratic gubernatorial candidate Scott Heidepriem sets the record straight on why his running mate, Ben Arndt, switched his registration yesterday from Republican to Democrat. No, it wasn't the law. Heidepriem and Arndt were happy and ready to offer South Dakotans the chance to vote for a bipartisan ticket for governor and lieutenant governor. But at 4:45 p.m. yesterday, the Republicans (I haven't gotten clear on which ones—Nelson? a litigious party chair?*) made clear they would block the certification of the Heidepriem/Arndt ticket based on Arndt's status as a registered Republican.

Now you can bet that Heidepriem scrutinized the law in much greater detail than I ever will. Heidepriem was confident that if the Republicans tried to stop the Heidepriem/Arndt ticket in court, the Dems would win and the Arndt nomination would stand. There is no law preventing us Democrats from nominating a Republican or an Independent or any other citizen who meets the legal qualifications for office.

But check it out: the Democrats and Ben Arndt just spared us taxpayers another unnecessary lawsuit. Ben Arndt said, no problem, I'll re-register.

As Jim Abourezk said this morning, "Ben Arndt didn't leave the Republican Party; the Republican Party left him."

And as Scott Heidepriem noted this morning, if the Republicans are willing to break out the legal trickery and obstruction already just to challenge our lieutenant governor candidate, they must really not like Ben Arndt... or what he brings to Team Heidepriem. "There's something about this guy that has the Republicans scared to death," says Scott.

Ah, I love the smell of Republican fear in the morning.

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*Update 2010.06.27 08:22 CDT: Let's clarify: Team Heidepriem checked with two lawyers before announcing Arndt's addition to the ticket a month ago. They found no law or party rule under which Arndt's candidacy could be challenged. They checked with the Secretary of State's office, which said it saw no legal problem with certifying a mixed ticket. At 4:45 p.m. Friday, a tipster contacted the campaign, let them know the Republican chicanery afoot, and informed them that the Secretary of State had changed his position to say the law on this matter is not clear.

Ben Arndt Now a Dem? Not That I Mind...

Pat Powers and his commenters are having inordinate fun talking about Ben Arndt's rumored last-minute switch from Republican to Democrat. There's no mainstream confirmation yet... though I suppose I can ask Ben and his running mate Scott Heidepriem myself at the convention this morning.

If Ben has switched, I simply say, "'Bout time! Welcome to the party!"

But I would like some clarification: Powers is suggesting Arndt had to switch under state law to qualify for the ticket. I've perused state law, the state constitution, and the party constitution, and I see no clear requirement that the lieutenant governor register in the same party as the governor, or that a candidate has to belong to the party to receive the party's nomination (although as a party activist, I'd ask a non-party member some hard questions about why I ought to nominate him). But I'm also hurrying through breakfast, so I may have missed something.

Dear readers, your homework for today: find the statute or by-law requiring Arndt to be a Democrat. Also, let me know how much Ben Arndt's party registration matters to you.