President Trump Says He Will Debate Democratic Opponent in General Election but Criticizes Commission on Presidential Debates

Posted on by December 16, 2019
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On December 16, President Donald Trump tweeted that he looks forward to debating his general election opponent from the Democratic Party, but criticized the Commission on Presidential Debates and said he might not participate in CPD debates. See this story. Thanks to Thomas Jones for the link.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, has asked attorneys in Level the Playing Field v FEC, 19-5117, to recommend dates for the oral argument. This is the case that challenges the FEC’s determination that the Commission on Presidential Debates is in compliance with federal campaign laws that forbid corporate donations to federal candidates. It appears the oral argument will be in the spring of 2020.

Filing Closes for Utah Presidential Primaries

Posted on by December 16, 2019
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Filing for Utah presidential primaries closed December 12. Any qualified party is eligible to have a presidential primary, but each party had to affirmatively tell the state elections office if it wanted a presidential primary. The parties that did so are the Democratic, Republican, and Constitution Parties.

Candidates needed a filing fee of $500. No one filed in the Constitution Party presidential primary. The Democratic presidential primary will have 16 candidates; the Republican ballot will have seven. See the list here.

Wisconsin State Trial Court Orders State Board of Elections to Remove 234,000 Voters, Only 66 Days Before Upcoming Election

Posted on by December 16, 2019
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Wisconsin holds a judicial primary election on February 18, 2020. A State Supreme Court seat is on that ballot. On December 13, an Ozaukee County Circuit Judge ordered the State Board of Elections to remove 234,000 registered voters, all of whom either did not respond to an October 2019 mailing asking them to re-affirm their residence, or for whom the post office could not deliver the notice. See this story. Wisconsin has election-day registration.

California Judicial Candidate Changes his First Name to “Judge”

Posted on by December 16, 2019
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California elects Superior Court Judges in non-partisan elections. In the March 3, 2020 election in Los Angeles County, a candidate is running for that office. His name at birth was Michael Richard Cummins, but several years ago he changed his name, so that now his legal name is Judge Mike Cummins. He has an opponent who is suing to prevent him from using his name on the ballot. See this story.