In November, the voters of Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, and Utah will vote on initiatives that would set up nonpartisan procedures for redistricting. Thanks to Craig Franklin for this news.
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on September 22, a Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll was released for the Iowa Governor’s race. The results: Democratic 43%; Republican 41%; Libertarian 7%; undecided 9%. See this story.
There is a fourth candidate on the ballot, Gary Siegwarth, with the ballot label “Clear Water Party of Iowa”, but apparently he wasn’t included in the poll. Here is his web page.
The organizations that sponsor debates in Iowa have stubbornly refused to include Jake Porter, the Libertarian, in any polls so far.
No one other than the Democratic and Republican nominees has received even 5% of the vote for Governor of Iowa since 1912, when the Progressive Party nominee got 15.6%. The Libertarian Party will remain ballot-qualified if it gets at least 2% for Governor. Parties in Iowa must meet the vote test every two years, and only President/Governor counts. Assuming the Libertarians get at least 2% for Governor this year, that will be the first time since 1918 and 1920 that any party, other than the Democratic and Republican Parties, has met the Iowa definition of a “political party” for two elections in a row. The Socialist Party received over 2% for the appropriate offices in 1918 and 1920. The Iowa definition of a qualified party was created in 1892 and has never changed. Thanks to Political Wire for the link.
This HarrisX Poll asked voters who they would vote for for president, if the 2016 election were to be re-done.
On September 21, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that a proposed initiative, amending the city charter of Toledo, should not be on the ballot, even though it had enough valid signatures. State ex rel Twitchell v Saferin, 2018-Ohio-3829. Four of the seven members of the Court write separately. It is clear that the Ohio law, governing procedures to use the initiative process to amend a city charter, are unclear and contradictory. The initiative had to do with environmental protection for Lake Erie. Here is the decision.
Quebec has a provincial election on Monday, October 1. According to this story, 18 parties are on the ballot, including one that advocates that Quebec leave Canada and join the United States.