California State Senator Bob Hertzberg Suggests Top-Two Ought to be Changed

Posted on by May 24, 2018
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California State Senator Bob Hertzberg was interviewed by the Independent Voters Network recently. He was asked about California’s top-two system. He said, “It’s challenging for me. I like it because people who before were frozen out of the primary system are allowed to participate, although they don’t participate in as high of numbers. But what’s concerning me is how it’s practiced, because it’s now being manipulated all over the place, where Democrats will get involved in Republican races and vice versa in order to manipulate the outcome and it concerns me a little bit. I’ve given it a lot of thought but I think we may need to look at doing our elections another way.”

Hertzberg was formerly Speaker of the Assembly. In the Senate, he is one of five members of the Senate Elections Committee. Thanks to IVN for doing this interview, which can be read in full here.

U.S. Supreme Court Sets Conference Date for Case on Voting Rights of Citizens Who Move to Certain U.S. Territories

Posted on by May 24, 2018
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The U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether to hear Segovia v U.S., 17-1463, on June 7, 2018. This is the case from Illinois over voting rights for U.S. citizens who move out of Illinois to certain U.S. territories. If a citizen-resident of Illinois moves to American Samoa or the Northern Mariana Islands, he or she can continue to vote absentee in Illinois. Also if a citizen-resident of Illinois moves to a foreign country, he or she can also continue to vote in Illinois elections by absentee ballot.

But if an Illinois citizens-resident moves to Puerto Rico, Guam, or the U.S. Virgin Islands, that individual cannot continue to vote in Illinois elections. The lower courts had upheld this system.

The U.S. government has told the U.S. Supreme Court that it does not wish to file a response. Six law professors have filed an amicus, asking the Court to hear the case. They are Samuel Issacharoff, Joshua Douglas, Chad Flanders, Joseph Fishkin, Nicholas Stephanopoulos, and Ciara Torres-Spelliscy.

U.S. District Court Again Invalidates Delaware Law Requiring All Supreme and Superior Court Judges to be Members of the Two Largest Parties

Posted on by May 24, 2018
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On May 23, U.S. District Magistrate Judge Mary Pat Thynge, a Bush Sr. appointee, again ruled that Delaware cannot require all State Supreme and Superior Court Judges to be members of the two largest political parties. Adams v Carney, 1:17cv-181. Here is the 18-page opinion.

The Delaware Constitution says “Three of the five Justices of the Supreme Court in office at the same time, shall be of one major political party, and two of said Justices shall be of the other major political party.” The plaintiff is an independent. The state had asked for reconsideration of the original decision, which had been issued on December 6, 2017. The state argued that the plaintiff lacked standing, but failed to persuade the magistrate judge to change her opinion on that.