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Registration into Third Parties in New Jersey Rises 22% in Last Four Months

Posted on December 11, 2017 by Richard WingerDecember 11, 2017

Here is the November 7, 2017 New Jersey registration data. Since July 2017, Democratic registration has risen 1.4%; Republican registration has risen 1.0%; independent and miscellaneous registration has risen .8%; and registration into the state’s third parties has risen 22.0%.

Between July and November 2017, these are the increases for each third party:

Libertarian, 7,170 to 8,349
Conservative, 5,268 to 6,467
Constitution, 4,694 to 5,972
Green, 4,496 to 5,359
Socialist, 2,137 to 2,731
Natural Law, 1,881 to 2,370
Reform, 602 to 764

Nebraska Republican National Committeewoman Resigns

Posted on December 11, 2017 by Richard WingerDecember 11, 2017

On December 8, the Republican national committeewoman for Nebraska, Joyce Simmons, resigned from the committee. She did so to protest the national committee’s support for Roy Moore in the Alabama U.S. Senate election of December 12, 2017.

Election Law Expert Richard Pildes Predicts that Supreme Court Will Act Against Extreme Partisan Gerrymandering

Posted on December 11, 2017 by Richard WingerDecember 11, 2017

NYU Law Professor Rick Pildes, an expert on election law, here predicts that the U.S. Supreme Court this term will act against extreme partisan gerrymandering. He bases his prediction on last week’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a second such case, from Maryland.

Los Angeles Times Veteran Politics Reporter, George Skelton, Refers to California’s General Election as a “Runoff”

Posted on December 11, 2017 by Richard WingerDecember 11, 2017

George Skelton, who has been the senior Los Angeles Times politics columnist for many decades, here refers to California’s general election in November as the “run-off.” The reference is near the top of his column.

By federal law since 1872, states must hold their congressional elections in November. If states want a general election run-off, they must hold it after November. Only two states, Louisiana and Georgia, have general election run-offs in congressional elections. All of this was clarified by a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1997, Foster v Love.

Skelton has been a vociferous supporter of California’s top-two system since it was first proposed in 2004.

Libertarian Party Sets Location and Date of 2020 Presidential Convention

Posted on December 11, 2017 by Richard WingerDecember 11, 2017

On December 10, the Libertarian Party national committee met in New Orleans and decided that the party’s 2020 presidential convention will be in Austin, Texas, over Memorial Day weekend. As far as is known, no other political party, major or minor, has yet chosen a location for its 2020 presidential convention.

In 2016, the party held its presidential convention in Orlando, Florida, May 26-30. Thanks to Independent Political Report for the news about the 2020 convention.