On October 23, U.S. District Court Judge John A. Gibney, an Obama appointee, declared that Virginia’s ban on felon voting violates the 1870 act of Congress that readmitted Virginia to the union. King v Youngkin, e.d., 3:23cv-408. The decision was made from the bench, and is not yet in writing.

Unlike other lawsuits that have tried to overturn bans on felons’ voting rights in Virginia and certain other states, this one is not based on the U.S. Constitution. It is based on the wording of the 1870 federal law that put Virginia back in the union. It said that Virginia was forbidden to amend its constitution to shrink voting rights. The state had argued that only Congress can make a determination that Virginia is not in compliance.

On October 22, Senator Daniel Thatcher, the only Forward Party state legislator in the nation, said he will resign his seat this year. Under Utah law, when there is a vacancy in a legislative seat, the party of that former legislator chooses the replacement. However, the Forward Party has pledged to set up an on-line poll to let any registered voter in the district choose a replacement. Candidates must file by November 11. They must be Forward Party members. Voting will be December 8-11.

On October 22, an Eagleton Institute of Politics Poll released figures for the New Jersey gubernatorial race: Democratic 50%, Republican 45%, “someone else” 3%, undecided 2%. See the results here. Scroll down to the first data page. There are only four candidates on the ballot, so it seems the pollsters could have mentioned each of the four instead of using a “someone else” category.