On October 22, the Virginia Board of Elections filed this brief in the Fourth Circuit in Fitzgerald v Alcorn, 18-1111. The issue is the Virginia law that says incumbent office-holders who are running for re-election may dictate to their party whether to use a primary or a convention in that particular race. The U.S. District Court had invalidated the law. The state is mostly arguing that the case is procedurally flawed.
Voters in Texas who use the straight-ticket device are sometimes finding that the device doesn’t work. This year, some voters who push the Republican straight-ticket button end up casting no vote for U.S. Senate. And some voters who push the Democratic button end up voting for Ted Cruz, Republican, for U.S. Senate. See this story. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.
As the story says, this is the last year the device is being used in Texas. The legislature repealed it in 2017 but made that change effective after the 2018 election is over. The story does not say, but it could have said, that voters this year should simply not use the device.
On October 17, the State Journal-Register, daily newspaper for Springfield, endorsed Steve Dutner, the Libertarian nominee, for Secretary of State. See the editorial here. Thanks to Independent Political Report for this news. If Dutner gets at least 5% of the vote, the Libertarian Party will become ballot-qualified for statewide offices in 2020, and will be entitled to a presidential primary.
A U.S. District Court in Springfield, Illinois, will hear Gill v Scholz on Thursday, November 15, at 10 a.m. This is the case that challenges the independent U.S. House petition requirement, 5% of the last vote cast. The case was filed in 2016 and still doesn’t have a decision.
On October 25, the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court agreed with the lower court, and kept the Democratic nominee for Amherst Town Clerk off the ballot. Cox v Spoth, 18-1945, 4th district. Here is the three-page opinion. The party nominated by party meeting, but the meeting should have involved the new Democratic town committee, and instead the nomination had been made by the old party town committee. Thanks to Joe Burhs for the link.
