On October 29, the Pennsylvania legislature passed SB 421. It eliminates the straight-ticket device, legalizes early voting by mail, eases the deadline to register to vote, and also liberalizes the deadline for absentee ballots to arrive in the elections office. See this story.
This article carries an interview with Jay Jacobs, state chair of the Democratic Party of Nassau County. He is the proponent of raising the number of votes needed for a party to retain its qualified status from 50,000 votes for Governor, to something several times higher. He says he only wants to erase “sham parties” from the ballot. He does not explain why he thinks the Green Party and the Libertarian Party are “sham parties.”
On October 29, the British House of Commons voted to hold a general parliamentary election on December 12, 2019. See this story. Thanks to Thomas Jones for the link.
On October 28, the Eleventh Circuit ruled against some Bernie Sanders supporters who donated money to the Democratic Party in 2016. The supporters charged that the party had promised an impartial process for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, but actually tilted the contest in favor of Hillary Clinton. The 29-page decision in Wilding v DNC, 17-14194, is here.
The decision is by Judge Adalberto Jordan, an Obama appointee. It is also signed by Judge Frank Hull, a Clinton appointee; and Britt C. Grant, a Trump appointee. The decision does not try to determine whether the party did or did not tilt the process. But it says to prevail, the plaintiffs should have showed that they donated money to the party specifically because the party had promised a fair process, and that they would not have donated if they had known that the process was unfair.
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren has spoken out against the idea that New York should make the definition of “political party” more restrictive. The idea is being pushed by the New York State Democratic Party chairman. See this story.
