Pennsylvania “Materiality” Lawsuit May Be Appealed to U.S. Supreme Court

Posted on by May 23, 2022
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On May 23, the losing side in Migliori v Lehigh County Board of Elections asked the Third Circuit to stay its own decision. The issue is whether mail ballots in which the voter forgot to add the date of signing next to the signature on the outer envelope should count. The Third Circuit on May 20 ruled that they should, based on the part of the federal voting rights act that says errors that don’t really matter should not disenfranchise anyone.

The losing side in the Third Circuit says it will ask for U.S. Supreme Court review quickly, and therefore the Third Circuit ought to stay its own decision.

New York State Board of Elections Files Brief in Support of Keeping the Statewide Primaries in June

Posted on by May 23, 2022
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On May 23, the New York State Board of Elections filed this brief in League of Women Voters of New York v Kosinski, s.d., 1:22cv-4084. The issue is whether the statewide primaries should be held on June 28 or August 23. There are other issues in the case also. The tone of the brief is almost hysterical in its insistence that the primary for statewide offices remain in June.

Article Links this Year’s Utah U.S. Senate Race with the Tradition of Fusion from the 1890’s

Posted on by May 23, 2022
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Beau Tremitiere has this article in The Bulwark, noting the similiarity between the use of fusion in the 1890’s by the Peoples Party, and the current Utah US Senate race. The Utah Democratic Party has endorsed independent candidate Evan McMullin.

In the 1890’s, some southern state branches of the Peoples Party nominated the Republican ticket; in many states in the midwest, the Peoples Party nominated the Democratic Party.

Utah does not permit fusion, so the Democratic Party’s support of McMullin can’t show up on the November ballot.

Sacramento Bee Carries Op-Ed Advocating an End to Top-Two System

Posted on by May 22, 2022
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The May 22 Sacramento Bee, the largest newspaper in California’s capital city, has an op-ed advocating that the California top-two system be abolished. It is by Steve Maviglio, a Democrat, and Ron Nehring, a Republican. Here is a link, but it is behind a paywall. It demonstrates that the top-two system has not helped moderates to get elected, and points out that the California legislature is still one of the most polarized in the nation. It lists instances when a major party incumbent sponsored advertisements referring to that incumbent’s most feared opponent in a way to boost another potential opponent who would be weaker.

It doesn’t mention the flaw that the system has blocked all minor party candidates from the general election ballot, except in races when one of the two major parties didn’t run anyone. It does mention that the system has not helped independent candidates, as the top-two backers expected. Thanks to Eric Wong for the link.

Australia 2022 Federal Election

Posted on by May 23, 2022
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Australia held a federal election for all seats in the House, and many of the seats in the Senate, on May 22. The Green Party made its strongest showing ever in Australia, increasing its representation in the House from one seat to at least three seats, with the possibility of more. Elections for the lower house do not use proportional representation. In the Senate, which is elected by proportional representation, the Labor Party will probably need the support of the 9 Green Senators to reach a majority. See this wikipedia story, which continues to be updated.