On August 9, Massachusetts Governor Charles Baker signed HB 4834, which sets up automatic voter registration in Massachusetts. Every adult citizen known by the state government to exist will be automatically registered, unless he or she declines.
In states with automatic voter registration, petition validity rates are higher.
The Washington Post has this column about the Green Party’s participation in the Ohio special election for U.S. House earlier this week. The piece, by Post opinion writer Elizabeth Bruenig, defends the party and suggests that Ranked Choice Voting would solve the problem that many of the Green Party’s critics are upset about. It also says that voting is expressive. Thanks to Elizabeth Sandor for the link.
Chris Anglin, a Republican running for North Carolina Supreme Court, has said that he will drop out if he doesn’t win the pending lawsuit over whether he can have his party label on the ballot. See this story.
On August 9, a poll sponsored by the Doug Wilder School of Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University was released. It shows: Democratic incumbent Tim Kaine 49%; Republican Corey Stewart 26%; Libertarian Matt Waters 5%; undecided 20%. See this story. Thanks to Political Wire for the link.
On August 8, the Republican Party notified the District of Columbia Board of Elections that it has nominated for some districtwide offices. The party didn’t nominate anyone for districtwide office in its June 2018 primary, but the District permits qualified parties to make nominations by party meeting after the primary is over.
The Republican nominees are Nelson Rimensnyder for Delegate to the U.S. House, and Ralph Chittams for At-Large Member of the City Council.
The party did not nominate anyone for Mayor or Chair of the City Council.
