The American Interest Carries Analysis of How California’s Top-Two Isn’t Working as its Backers Hoped

Posted on by December 7, 2017
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The American Interest is a bimonthly print publication, founded in 2005. Among its founders are Francis Fukuyama and Zbigniew Brzezinski. The current issue carries this analysis by Luke Phillips, about the California top-two system. He writes that it has not worked as its backers hoped. Instead of boosting centrists and moderates, it has exaggerated the dominance of the Democratic Party and transformed California into a one-party state.

The article is not perfectly accurate. Phillips seems to believe top-two wasn’t used in California until 2014, but it was in effect starting in 2011. Also Phillips doesn’t seem to realize that before top-two started, independent voters were permitted to vote in all Democratic and Republican primaries for congress and partisan state office.

U.S. District Court Strikes Down Delaware Law Requiring All State Judges to be Registered Republicans or Registered Democrats

Posted on by December 7, 2017
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On December 6, U.S. District Court Magistrate Mary Pat Thynge, a Bush Sr. appointee, struck down a Delaware state constitutional provision that says, “Three of the five Justices of the Supreme Court shall be of one major political party, and two of said Justices shall be of the other major political party.” Also struck down was a similar provision relating to Judges of the Superior Court. Adams v Carney, 1:17cv-181.

Here is the 14-page decision. It is based on U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have struck down laws that let states make hiring and firing decisions for government employees based on that employee’s party affiliation. Those past U.S. Supreme Court opinions do not apply to policy-making jobs, but the decision in Adams v Carney says judges aren’t policy-makers.

Delaware defines “major party” to be a group with registration membership of at least 5% of the state total. No party other then the Democratic and Republican Parties has ever been a “major party” in Delaware, in the entire history of the government-printed ballot.

The state tried to defend its law by arguing that the plaintiff, a registered independent, didn’t have standing because he wasn’t likely to be appointed to a Delaware judicial post anyway. The state also attacked him because he changed his registration from “Democrat” to “independent” just the day before he filed the lawsuit. The plaintiff said he left the Democratic Party because it is not progressive enough. Thanks to Michael Drucker for news about this decision.

Massachusetts Special Election Results, State Senate

Posted on by December 6, 2017
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On December 5, Massachusetts held a special election for State Senate in the vacant Worcester & Middlesex seat. The election returns are incomplete, but it appears Republican nominee Dean Tran won. Also in the race were a Democrat (Susan Chalifoux-Zephir), an independent (Claire Freda), and a Green (Charlene DiCalogero). No one got a majority. See this story.

Last time this seat was up, in November 2016, the only candidate listed on the ballot was the Democratic incumbent, Jennifer Flanagan.