The New Mexico Supreme Court heard oral argument on Wednesday, September 12, on whether the Secretary of State can unilaterally put a straight-ticket device on November 2018 ballots, even though there is nothing in the law authorizing or even mentioning the device. After the hearing had been over for one and one half hours, the court announced that it does not believe the Secretary of State has the authority to put a straight-ticket device on the ballot. The vote was 5-0. The Court will explain its reasoning shortly. Here is the order. UPDATE: see this article, which has a description of the questions the justices asked.

Some states, including Illinois, do not permit voters to sign a general election petition for more than one candidate for the same office. Eric Zorn, op-ed writer for the Chicago Tribune, here says the law should be amended to let voters sign for multiple candidates for the same office. Thanks to Bill Redpath for the link.

On September 11, a Suffolk/Reno Gazette Journal Poll for Nevada was released. The poll included all ballot-listed candidates for Governor and U.S. Senate. See the results here. Question six has the U.S. Senate results, and question nine as the gubernatorial results. Thanks to Political Wire for the link.