Maine uses public funding for candidates for state office. This story explains that a bill-drafting error, unless corrected by a quick special session, will prevent public funds to be released to candidates after June 30 this year.
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On May 22, a poll was released by USC Dornsife and the Los Angeles Times. It is for California Governor and U.S. Senator, and includes every candidate who is on the ballot. There are 27 candidates for Governor and 32 for U.S. Senate. See the results here.
On May 22, the Pennsylvania Senate State Government Committee unanimously passed SB 22. It sets up a redistricting commission that would draw districts both for the legislature and U.S. House. The commission would have eleven members. The Governor would choose three members who could not be either Democrats or Republicans. The other eight would be chosen by legislative leaders. The bill is a state constitutional amendment, so if it passes the legislature, then the voters would vote on the idea.
A U.S. District Court in North Carolina recently granted permission for a pending ballot access case to get a fresh start, and for the plaintiffs to file an amended complaint. Here is the Complaint in Leifert v Strach, m.d., 1:17cv-147. The case attacks the provisions for independent candidates to get on the ballot, which are far more severe than the procedures for newly-qualifying parties. It also attacks the requirement that nominees of qualified parties that nominate by convention must pay a filing fee, and the failure of the state to let voters register into unqualified parties, and the mandatory petitions for write-in candidates.
On May 22, U.S. District Court Judge Kimberly Mueller issued an order in Citizens for Fair Representation v Padilla, e.d., 2:17cv-973. She cancelled the oral argument of June 1, and said she will soon issue a decision on whether this case will be referred to a 3-judge U.S. District Court, without benefit of oral argument on that.
This is the lawsuit that says the population of California legislative districts (approximately 1,000,000 per State Senate district, and 500,000 for Assembly districts) is so large, California voters no longer have meaningful opportunities to communicate with their state legislators, and that this situation violates the U.S. Constitution.