The voters of British Columbia will soon vote on whether to retain their current election system for provincial legislative elections, or to switch to proportional representation.

The ballots has two questions. The first question asks voters to choose between the status quo or proportional representation. The second question asks voters to choose which type of proportional representation system they favor. Three alternative types are on the ballot, and voters are free to choose more than one. The three types are: Dual Member Proportional, Mixed Member Proportional, or Rural-Urban Proportional. This wikipedia article explains each type.

Also on the ballot are municipal elections. The election is conducted by mail ballot during the period October 22-November 30.

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.

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.