Write-in Candidate Elected to Pennsylvania Legislature, but Which Write-in Candidate Won is Still Unknown

On March 21, Pennsylvania held a special election for State House, 197th district. Only the Republican nominee, Lucinda Little, was on the ballot. According to Philadelphia election returns so far (with all precincts reporting), Little only received 198 votes, whereas there are 2,483 write-in votes. The two most prominent write-in candidates are Cheri Honkala for the Green Party, and Emilio Vazquez for the Democratic Party. UPDATE: the write-in results will be announced on Friday, March 24.

Update on Whether Alabama Must Hold a Special U.S. Senate Election This Year

This Alabama newspaper story describes the status of the state court lawsuit over whether the Governor is required to call a special U.S. Senate election this year, or whether he can decide to skip a special election until November 2018. The vacancy was created when Senator Jeff Sessions resigned to become U.S. Attorney General. The Governor then appointed Luther Strange and said there is no requirement for a special election this year.

The law is vague, and says the special election must be called “forthwith.”

North Carolina House Will Vote on Whether to Override Veto of Judicial Election Bill on Wednesday, March 22

The North Carolina House will vote on whether to override the Governor’s veto of HB 100 on Wednesday, March 22. This is the bill that moves the independent candidate petition deadline (for all office, including president) from June to April. The bill also converts lower trial court elections from non-partisan to partisan.