On June 1, Alaska State Representative Paul Seaton announced that he has changed his registration from Republican to independent. He is running for re-election this year. He will seek the Democratic Party nomination this year. He was first elected in 2002, and represents part of the Kenai Peninsula.
He is the fifteenth state legislator in the nation who has changed from either Republican or Democratic, to either independent or other party, since the November 2016 election.
There are two candidates for Public Service Commissioner in the statewide Alabama Republican primary of June 5. On May 31, the Republican Party decided that any votes cast for one of them, Jim Bonner, will not be certified in the election results. See this story. The Republican Party took this action because it determined that Bonner has made offensive comments recently.
The state pays for party primaries in Alabama, but candidates in primaries file with their parties, not with election officials. The story does not say how Republican primary voters will be informed of the decision. Some absentee ballots have already been cast.
The Michigan Democratic Party has been left with no one on its August 2018 primary ballot for U.S. House, 1st district. See this story. The First District has a Republican incumbent, Jack Bergman, and is in the northern part of the state, including the upper peninsula. In 2016 the general election vote was: Republican 197,777; Democratic 144,334; Libertarian 13,386; Green 4,774.
The Democrat who had petitioned for a place on this year’s ballot, Matthew Morgan, had enough valid signatures, but he was removed because on one form, he listed his post office box instead of his physical home address. He will sue to try to get back on the ballot. If that doesn’t work, he will mount a write-in campaign in the primary. Thanks to Thomas Jones for this news.
On May 30, the Tenth Circuit granted the Utah Republican Party’s request to file a final brief in Utah Republican Party v Cox, 16-4091. The party then promptly filed its reply brief. The issue is the law that forces parties to allow candidates to appear on the party’s primary ballot, even if they don’t show much support at a party meeting. The Tenth Circuit already upheld the law in a 2-1 decision, and the party is seeking a rehearing.
On May 29, the U.S. Supreme Court asked for a response from the federal government in Segovia v U.S., 17-1463, the case over voting rights for citizens who move from Illinois to Guam, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands. This is a very significant development, and it suggests there is a fair chance the Court will accept the case.
The U.S. Supreme Court had also set a new conference date, June 28.
