December 2022 Ballot Access News Print Edition |

2022 ELECTION RETURNS SUGGEST ELECTORAL COLLEGE COULD DAMAGE REPUBLICANS IN 2024

Never in history has the electoral college damaged the Republican Party. In 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016, the Democratic Party presidential nominee won the most popular votes but still lost the presidency. But the 2022 election returns suggest that for the first time, in 2024 it might be the Republican Party that is hurt by the electoral college.

The vote for the office at the top of the ballot in 2022, in the nation as a whole, gives the Republicans more popular votes than the Democrats. This is true whether one considers U.S. Senator to be the top-most office, or Governor to be that office. But, under either calculation, the states in which Republicans have more popular votes than Democrats only have a minority of the electoral vote. States with more Democratic votes than Republican votes have a majority of the electoral college.

If one uses the gubernatorial election (in the states which had both a gubernatorial and a Senate election), the total vote for the top-most office in 2022 is: Republican 54,214,821; Democratic 52,689,067. Yet the states with Republican votes exceeding Democratic votes only have 258 electoral votes. The states in which Democrats had the higher popular vote have 280 electoral votes. See page three.

If one uses the Senate election (for states which had both a gubernatorial and Senate election), the national total for the top-most office is: Republican 53,441,867; Democratic 53,425,580. Yet the states with Republican votes exceeding Democratic votes only have 245 electoral votes. The states in which Democrats had the higher popular vote have 293 electoral votes.

These totals were as of November 27. At that time, California had 253,134 uncounted votes; no other state had that many.

Of course, some states only had either a gubernatorial election, or a U.S. Senate election, but not both. Obviously, in those states, whichever office was up is used.

For the six states that had neither of those offices up, U.S. House is deemed the top-most office. None of those six states had any statewide races whatsoever, so when one looks at the ballot in those states, U.S. House is at the top.

The reason for the anomaly is that in 2022 Democrats tended to "carry" their states with fairly narrow margins, whereas most of the states in which Republicans won in 2022 had a very large margin against the Democratic nominees. Millions of Republican votes were "wasted" in such states.

If it should happen that Democrats win the presidency in 2024, even though the Republican nominee has the most popular votes, it is somewhat likely that both major parties might support a constitutional amendment to alter the Electoral College.

On November 8, voters in Portland, Oregon, and also in Portland, Maine, passed ballot measures for proportional representation for city council elections. The type of proportional representation in both cities is Single Transferable Vote. It sets up multi-member districts, and makes it possible for minority points of view to win at least one seat inside such districts.

In Portland, Oregon, Measure 26-228 passed with 58% of the vote. It sets up four districts, with each district electing three members. It is possible for a candidate supported by 25% of the voters to win.

In Portland, Maine, Question 4 passed with 64% of the vote. It leaves the details of how many districts there will be, and how many members from each district, to the city council. It says, "For elections conducted by ranked choice voting where more than one person is to be elected to a single office, the winners shall be determined by a proportional method of ranked choice voting. Such method shall provide for candidates to be elected on the basis of thresholds determined by the number of seats to be filled plus one, ballots to be counted in rounds, votes to be transferred from defeated candidaes, and for votes, in fractions or in whole, in excess of the threshold to be transferred from elected candidates."

When New York city used this system between 1937 and 1945, six parties won at least one seat on the City Council at least once. Currently the only city that uses this system in the U.S. is Cambridge, Massachusetts.

A bill has been pending in Congress to provide for this system in U.S. House elections, but it only has eight co-sponsors and has not had a hearing. It is HR 3863 by Congressman Don Beyer of Virginia.

In addition to the measures in those two cities, ballot measures for ordinary ranked choice voting passed in Seattle, Multnomah County Oregon, Evanston Illinois, Fort Collins Colorado, and Ojai California.

On October 28, U.S. District Court Judge James Sweeney, a Trump appointee, issued an order in Green Party of Indiana v Sullivan, s.d., 1:22cv-518. This case challenges the number of signatures needed for minor party and independent candidates, 2% of the last vote cast for Secretary of State.

The judge rejected the state’s request to dismiss the case without a trial. The state argued that the law had been upheld in 1985. But, it had only been in effect for one year at that time. Therefore, the judge said, the old decision isn’t binding.

On November 8, Nevada voters passed Question Three. However, it won’t go into effect unless the voters pass it again in November 2024. It eliminates the ability of parties to have nominees (except for President). All candidates run in the primary, and the top five then appear on the November ballot. The primary ballot does not use ranked choice voting, but the general election ballot does (except for President).

It makes ballot access more difficult for two distinct reasons. The first is that minor party candidates for Governor and U.S. Senator are very unlikely to qualify for the November ballot. In 2022, there were ten major party candidates for Governor, and twelve for U.S. Senate. Experience from Washington, California and Alaska suggests that minor party candidates will not place in the top five.

Separate from that, because parties will no longer have nominees, minor parties will not be able to retain their qualified status with a vote test. And without qualified status, they won’t be on the ballot for President any longer, without doing a difficult petition drive. The current vote test is 1%.

Florida: on November 8, U.S. District Court Judge Casey Rodgers struck down a law that makes it a crime for a candidate for non-partisan office to mention his or her party affiliation. Hetherington v Madden, n.d., 3:21cv-671. The plaintiff had been fined for saying he was a "lifelong Republican". He was running for School Board.

Georgia: on November 3, the Eleventh Circuit said Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene’s lawsuit to stop the state from adjudicating her qualifications is moot, because she already went through that process. Greene v Ga. Sec. of State, 22-11299.

Maine: On October 26, U.S. District Court Judge Lance Walker declined to put the Libertarian Party on the 2024 ballot. Baines v Bellows, 1:19cv-509. He had previously struck down the law that defines "political party", and he had put the party on the 2022 ballot. When he declined to include 2024, he cited the fact that no Libertarian had run in 2022 in Maine.

New Jersey: on November 23, the Third Circuit upheld a state law that says if a candidate on a primary ballot mentions an individual or a group in his or her ballot label, the candidate must get permission from that individual or group. Mazo v N.J. Sec. of State, 21-2630.

New York: on November 2, the Libertarian and Green Parties asked the Second Circuit for reconsideration, in their lawsuit that challenges the ballot access restrictions passed in 2020.

South Dakota: on November 1, the Eighth Circuit issued an opinion in Dakotans for Health v Noem, 21-2428. It says the lower court had been correct to enjoin some restrictions on initiative circulators. The law requires them to disclose their name, residential address, email address, phone number, and sex offender status prior to circulating. The information is put into a directory that anyone may see.

On November 10, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security & Co-operation in Europe published its tentative report on the U.S. elections process. The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights observers elections on a regular basis, all around the world.

The Report mentions the Georgia ballot access law for U.S. House elections, which effectively requires U.S. House candidates to be Republicans or Democrats if they wish to run. The Report even has a footnote which links to the cert petition in Cowen v Raffensperger.

~	Rep.	Dem.	Lib’t	Wk Fam	Green	Consti	oth(1)	oth(2)	independent
Alab.	944,845	411,687	45,823	~	~	~	~	~	~
Alas.	144,178	63,755	~	~	~	~	~	~	54,585
Ariz.	1,270,774	1,287,890	~	~	~	~	~	~	~
Ark.	571,070	319,195	16,689	~	~	~	~	~	~
Cal.	4,361,701	6,354,574	~	~	~	~	~	~	~
Colo.	983,034	1,468,476	28,938	~	~	21,623	6,686	~	~
Conn.	546,209	690,183	~	16,137	~	~	12,400	2,827	~
Del	138,201	178,416	3,074	~	~	~	~	1,958	~
DC	11,699	174,212	4,003	~	9,867	~	~	~	~
Fla.	4,614,307	3,106,328	19,299	~	~	~	~	~	31,577
Ga.	2,111,572	1,813,673	28,163	~	~	~	~	~	~
Hi.	152,237	261,025	~	~	~	~	~	~	~
Ida.	358,596	120,160	6,714	~	~	5,250	~	~	101,835
Ill.	1,719,377	2,202,378	112,352	~	~	~	~	~	~
Ind.	1,090,390	704,480	63,823	~	~	~	~	~	~
Iowa	709,198	482,950	28,998	~	~	~	~	~	~
Kan.	471,323	492,209	10,888	~	~	~	~	~	20,057
Ky.	913,257	564,231	~	~	~	~	~		~
La.	876,843	481,065	4,865	~	~	~	5,388	~	15,129
Me.	286,971	372,882	~	~	~	~	~	~	13,603
Md.	640,811	1,284,834	29,989	~	14,443	~	17,072	~	~
Mass.	848,989	1,547,199	38,529	~	~	~	~	~	~
Mich.	1,954,332	2,422,650	38,764	~	10,772	16,247	4,954	~	~
Minn.	1,119,906	1,312,313	~	~	~	~	51,945	25,396	~
Miss.	453,752	250,893	3,556	~	~	~	~	~	~
Mo.	1,143,636	868,875	34,706	~	~	14,548	~	~	~
Mont.	245,081	158,745	12,611	~	~	~	~	~	47,195
Nebr.	398,324	242,006	26,455	~	~	~	~	~	~
Nev.	497,377	481,991	14,919	~	~	9,918	~	~	~
N.H	342,813	256,766	7,843	~	~	~	~	~	~
N.J.	1,133,921	1,375,143	15,235	~	~	~	2,127	~	14,948
N.M.	324,699	370,163	17,384	~	~	~	~	~	~
N.Y.	2,398,960	2,783,903	~	250,898	~	~	306,948	~	~
No.C.	1,905,603	1,783,875	51,636	~	29,926	~	~	~	~
No.D.	135,474	59,995	~	~	~	~	~	~	44,406
Ohio	2,528,018	1,497,866	~	~	~	~	~	~	~
Okla.	639,484	481,904	16,243	~	~	~	~	~	15,653
Ore.	842,648	910,772	6,764	~	~	7,915	~	~	167,095
Pa.	2,229,532	2,996,882	51,214	~	24,138	~	~	20,346	~
R.I.	139,001	207,166	2,811	~	~	~	~	~	7,635
So.C.	988,501	692,691	20,826	~	~	~	~	~	~
So.D.	217,035	123,148	9,983	~	~	~	~	~	~
Tenn.	1,128,097	572,153	~	~	~	~	~	~	37,204
Tex.	4,426,627	3,539,135	81,660	~	28,499	~	~	~	~
Utah	571,974	0	31,784	~	~	~	12,103	~	459,958
Vt.	202,147	68,248	~	~	~	~	~	~	13,060
Va.	1,462,035	1,572,376	~	~	~	~	~	~	7,466
Wa.	1,295,079	1,736,784	~	~	~	~	~	~	~
W.V.	312,004	149,706	~	~	~	~	~	~	10,257
Wis.	1,269,483	1,360,430	~	~	~	~	~	~	27,055
Wyo.	143,696	30,686	8,157	~	~	~	~	~	~
TOT	54,214,821	52,689,067	889,666	267,035	107,626	75,464	419,419	50,527	1,084,434

~	Dem.	Rep.	Indp, misc	Lib’t.	Green	Consti.	Wk Fam	Reform	other
Alaska	77,137	144,542	349,735	7,009	1,540	749	?	?	21,550
Arizona	1,270,544	1,436,852	1,401,277	32,148	3,108	?	?	?	– –
Arkansas	90,236	128,756	1,583,193	725	107	?	?	?	– –
Calif.	10,283,258	5,232,094	5,170,822	231,459	96,229	156	?	?	926,256
Colorado	1,058,592	940,970	1,736,967	41,052	8,691	12,015	?	?	8,167
Conn.	813,384	463,401	955,990	97	241	44	26	2	3,831
Delaware	363,463	211,039	173,650	2,211	730	258	329	48	13,037
Dt. Col.	386,009	26,910	84,471	2,368	3,982	?	?	?	– –
Florida	4,971,444	5,277,394	3,992,985	39,451	7,826	3,893	?	1,456	209,529
Idaho	130,637	580,188	279,957	11,356	?	4,042	?	?	– –
Iowa	598,205	687,710	577,740	12,100	2,966	0	0	0	– –
Kansas	518,651	874,446	543,315	21,164	0	0	0	0	0
Kentucky	1,606,876	1,629,964	334,381	15,594	2,190	1,155	?	176	461
Louis’na	1,189,716	1,007,718	674,192	16,180	2,544	167	0	894	125,215
Maine	339,103	272,003	257,565	942	35,061	?	?	?	?
Md.	2,256,421	1,000,822	887,607	17,712	6,642	?	?	?	4,457
Mass.	1,438,607	437,211	2,967,100	17,493	3,991	330	750	121	18,473
Nebraska	345,292	606,967	268,730	18,373	?	?	?	?	3,879
Nevada	605,540	553,200	597,412	16,330	1,654	79,844	?	?	– –
N. Hamp.	275,220	265,116	330,466	?	?	?	?	?	– –
N. Jersey	2,531,662	1,526,226	2,366,866	23,478	11,670	14,793	?	1,718	29,338
N. M.	602,433	423,915	316,224	14,828	2,786	?	1,842	?	– –
N. York	6,021,708	2,695,984	2,805,351	19,420	21,207	?	46,714	?	513,865
No. Car.	2,501,694	2,226,492	2,638,733	50,231	312	?	?	?	– –
Okla.	687,545	1,175,253	413,328	19,780	?	?	?	?	– –
Oregon	1,013,268	730,986	1,048,142	20,914	7,861	3,827	8,409	?	142,788
Penn.	4,047,103	3,497,727	1,266,455	44,912	10,406	?	?	?	– –
Rhode Is.	306,362	102,225	311,582	?	?	?	?	?	– –
So. Dak.	151,464	296,491	146,020	2,802	?	371	?	?	– –
Utah	235,828	881,648	479,274	20,461	?	6,579	?	?	66,386
W. Va.	379,233	452,791	308,584	10,025	2,376	121	?	?	– –
Wyo.	34,016	232,653	28,150	2,250	0	570	?	?	– –
TOTAL	47,130,651	36,019,694	35,296,264	732,865	234,120	128,914	58,070	4,415	2,087,232
Percent	38,73%	29.60%	29.00%	.60%	.19%	.11%	.05%	.00+%	1.72%

Totals October 2020: Democratic 47,106,084 (39.67%), Republican 35,041,482 (29.51%), independent & miscellaneous 33,696,700 (28.38%), Libertarian 652,261 (.55%), Green 240,222 (.20%), Constitution 129,556 (.11%), Working Families 49,758 (.04%), Reform 9,004 (.01%), other parties 1,814,973 (1.53%).

Totals October 2016: Democratic 45,690,825 (40.60%), Republican 33,052,332 (29.37%), independent & miscellaneous 31,200,104 (27.72%), Libertarian 497,535 (.44%), Green 256,560 (.23%), Constitution 92,483 (.08%), Reform 5,294 (.00+%), Working Families 61,517 (.05%), other parties 1,662,329 (1.50%).

Totals October 2012: Dem. 43,512,746 (41.85%), Rep. 31,298,863 (30.10%), indp. & misc. 26,808,810 (25.79%), Libertarian 330,811 (.32%), Green 250,682 (.24%), Constitution 77,918 (.07%), Reform 22,880 (.02%), Americans Elect 6,408 (.01%), other parties 1,659,537 (1.60%).

Totals October 2008: Dem. 43,933,901 (43.62%), Rep. 30,944,590 (30.72%), indp. & misc. 24,157,259 (23.98%), AIP/Constitution 438,222 (.44%), Green 255,019 (.25%), Lib’t. 240,328 (.24%), Reform 32,961 (.03%), other parties 675,980 (.67%).

Totals October 2004: Dem. 37,301,951 (42.19%), Rep. 28,988,593 (32.79%), indp. & misc. 20,471,250 (23.15%), Constitution 320,019 (.36%), Green 298,701 (.34%), Lib’t. 235,521 (.27%), Reform 63,729 (.07%), other 695,639 (.83%).

The parties in the "Other" column are: Ak: Alaskan Independence 19,277; Veterans 1,454; Moderate 339; Progressive 224; Patriots 210; Alliance 46. Ca: American Independent 777,152; Peace & Freedom 123,037; Common Sense 25,715; American Solidarity 352. Co: Approval Voting 4,540; Unity 3,341. Ct: Independent Party 3,649; Socialist 151; Forward 8; Socialist Action 8; Socialism & Liberation 7; Socialist Workers 2. De: Independent Party 10,317; Nonpartisan Party 1,214; Conservative 793; American Delta 573; Socialist Workers 140. Fl: Independent Party 206,024; Socialism & Liberation 1,604; Ecology 1,253; People’s 579; Coalition with Purpose 69. Ky: Socialist Workers. La: Independent Party 124,365; Conservative 850. Md: Working Class 4,457; Ma: United Independent 16,747; Socialist 1,590; Workers 116; Prohibition 20. Ne: Legal Marijuana Now. NJ: Conservative 15,404; Socialist 7,840; Natural Law 6,094. NY: Independence 360,216; Conservative 153,141; SAM 508. Or: Independent Party 139,427; Progressive 3,361; Ut: Independent American 64,008; United Utah 2,378.

STATE	REQUIREMENTS	SIGNATURES OR REGISTRATIONS OBTAINED
FULL PARTY	CAND	LIB’T	GREEN	CONSTI	WK FAM	NO LABELS	FORWARD
Ala.	42,353	5,000	0	0	0	0	finished	0
Alaska	(reg) 5,000	3,614	already on	1,540	749	0	6,000	0
Ariz.	34,116	(es) #43,000	already on	3,108	0	0	finished	0
Ark.	10,000	5,000	0	already on	0	0	0	0
Calif.	(reg) (es) 75,000	219,403	already on	already on	156	0	0	0
Colo.	10,000	pay fee	already on	already on	already on	0	3,000	2,000
Conn.	no procedure	#7,500	already on	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start
Del.	(est.) (reg) 760	(est.) 7,600	already on	730	258	329	0	0
D.C.	no procedure	(est.) #5,200	can’t start	already on	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start
Florida	0	145,040	already on	already on	already on	0	15,000	0
Georgia	69,884	#7,500	already on	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start
Hawaii	861	5,745	already on	0	already on	0	0	0
Idaho	17,359	1,000	already on	can’t start	already on	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start
Illinois	no procedure	#25,000	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start
Indiana	no procedure	#36,944	already on	0	0	0	0	0
Iowa	no procedure	#3,500	already on	0	0	0	0	0
Kansas	19,890	5,000	already on	0	0	0	0	0
Ky.	no procedure	#5,000	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start
La.	(reg) 1,000	#pay fee	already on	already on	221	0	0	0
Maine	(reg) 5,000	#4,000	942	already on	0	0	0	0
Md.	10,000	10,000	already on	0	0	0	0	0
Mass.	(est) (reg) 49,000	#10,000	already on	(reg) 3,991	(reg) 330	(reg) 750	0	0
Mich.	44,478	30,000	already on	already on	already on	0	0	0
Minn.	(est) 130,000	#2,000	0	0	0	0	0	0
Miss.	be organized	1,000	already on	already on	already on	0	0	0
Mo.	10,000	10,000	already on	0	0	0	0	0
Mont.	5,000	#5,000	already on	unsettled	0	0	0	0
Nebr.	6,605	2,500	already on	0	0	0	0	0
Nev.	10,096	10,096	already on	(reg) 1,654	already on	0	0	0
N. Hamp.	18,575	#3,000	0	0	0	0	0	0
N.J.	no procedure	#800	0	0	0	0	0	0
N. M.	3,562	3,562	already on	already on	0	0	0	0
N.Y.	no procedure	#45,000	in court	in court	can’t start	already on	can’t start	can’t start
No. Car.	13,757	82,542	already on	already on	5,000	0	23,000	0
No. Dak.	7,000	1,000	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ohio	40,345	5,000	0	0	0	0	finished	0
Okla.	35,592	pay fee	already on	0	0	0	0	0
Oregon	28,576	23,737	already on	already on	already on	already on	23,000	0
Penn.	no procedure	5,000	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start
R.I.	17,884	#1,000	0	0	0	0	0	0
So. Car.	10,000	10,000	already on	already on	already on	already on	0	2,000
So. Dak.	3,502	3,502	already on	finished	0	0	0	0
Tenn.	56,083	275	0	0	0	0	0	0
Texas	80,778	113,151	already on	already on	in court	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start
Utah	2,000	#1,000	already on	0	already on	0	0	200
Vermont	be organized	#1,000	already on	0	0	0	0	0
Virginia	no procedure	#5,000	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start
Wash.	no procedure	#1,000	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start
West Va.	no procedure	#7,948	already on	already on	0	0	0	0
Wisc.	10,000	#2,000	already on	already on	already on	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start
Wyo.	3,879	3,879	already on	can’t start	already on	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start
TOTAL STATES ON	34	17	12	3	0	0

#partisan label permitted. "WK FAM" = Working Families. "(reg.) = registered members. Four years ago at this time, the Libertarians were on in 32 states; Green in 19; Constitution in 14.

Progressive, Vermont: elected David Zuckerman Lieutenant Governor, with 54.2% of the vote. The Democratic Party had also nominated him, but he was on the ballot with the label, "Progressive, Democrat". In Vermont, with fusion nominees, the candidate’s membership party is listed first. Also elected: Tanya Vyhovsky to the State Senate, and these five members to the State House: Brian Cina, Troy Headrick, Kate Logan, Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, and Taylor Small.

Libertarian, Indiana: Stephanie Tucker, Ossian town council; Cheryl Heacox, Clay Twp. , Wayne County; Tom Kneuven and Dean Hartley, Franklin Twp. Board, Montgomery County; Stephen Coffman, Liberty Twp. Trustee and Terry Coffman, Liberty Twp. Board, Henry County.

Libertarian, Iowa: Thomas Laehn, County Attorney of Greene County.

Lib’t., Kentucky: Lex Hannan Justice of the Peace in Boone County; and Shannon Denniston & David Harryman Justices of the Peace in Montgomery County.

Only 13 states lack any qualified parties other than Rep. and Dem.: Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington. That is the smallest number of such states, just after a midterm election, in a century, except that after the 2018 election, there were also 13.

In earlier mid-term elections, the number was: 2014 fifteen; 2010 fifteen; 2006 nineteen; 2002 nineteen; 1998 sixteen; 1994 nineteen; 1990 thirty-one.

2022 was bolstered, compared to 2018, by the Libertarians meeting the vote test in Iowa and Maryland; but the party is no longer on in Ohio and Kentucky.

Currently, the only ballot-qualified third party in Minnesota is the Legalize Marijuana Now Party. The other pro-marijuana party in Minnesota, the Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party, did not poll 5% for any statewide race in either 2020 or 2022, so it is now off the ballot.

On November 4, the No Labels Party became a qualified party in Florida. The No Labels movement is somewhat similar to Americans Elect, which existed 2011-2012. The strategy is to nominate a centrist presidential candidate who politically would be perceived as an independent candidate. Both insist that they are not trying to create a new party. But both decided to qualify as a party in most states well before the election, simply for the purpose of easing the ballot access path for the presidential candidate. The No Labels bylaws in Florida specify that the party will not run anyone for office other than president. It is not clear that the state would honor that bylaw, because all qualified parties in Florida nominate by primary, for all partisan office, so a registered member of No Labels could file to run for any partisan office by paying a filing fee.

In 2011 Florida passed a law that qualified parties may not run a presidential nominee unless the party is recognized by the Federal Election Comission as a "national committee", or unless it submits a petition of 1% of the number of registered votes. The petition does not name a candidate. Florida did not enforce this law in 2012, nor in 2020, but it did enforce it in 2016. Because enforcement of the law is so uncertain, No Labels is circulating its presidential petition, which will require 145,040 signatures.

The FEC will not recognize a group as a "national committee" until after it has run a presidential candidate and congressioinal candidates in several states, so a new party can never gain FEC recognition. For that reason, the law discriminates against new parties, and under Williams v Rhodes, 363 US 23 (1968) it is unconstitutional.

Ever since 1980, the Federal Election Commission has published a free book of election returns for federal office. The 2020 book is finally in print. Anyone may receive a free copy by phoning 800-424-9530 and asking for it. It has a red cover, like all the previous editions. It is also available on-line at the FEC website.