On March 15, Gary Johnson and Jill Stein filed this brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, in Johnson v Commission on Presidential Debates, 16-7107. The issue is whether the Commission is in violation of federal anti-trust laws. The hearing will be Friday, April 21.
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.
The Netherlands held a national parliamentary election on March 15, but did not release the official results until March 21. Turnout was 82%. Under the country’s proportional representation system, thirteen parties won seats. This article gives the details. The reason the official tally took so long is that all votes are counted by hand, rather than by electronic means.
On Thursday, March 23, the Maryland Senate Education, Health & Environmental Affairs Committee will hear HB 529. It lowers the number of signatures for independent candidates for statewide office from approximately 40,000 signatures, to exactly 10,000 signatures. It has already passed the House.
The voters of Puerto Rico will vote on Sunday, June 11, 2017, whether to seek statehood, or whether Puerto Rico should have a more independent status relative to the United States. Those are the only two options on the ballot. Although Puerto Rico has voted on its status four times previously (1967, 1993, 1998, and 2012) past referendums always included the status quo, Commonwealth status, as a choice. This will be the first time that the status quo is not a ballot choice.
If statehood wins, the Puerto Rico will pass a bill providing for elections of two U.S. Senators and five U.S. House members for later in 2017.
If statehood loses, there will be another referendum in a few months, asking voters to choose between total independence, or status as a free nation associated with the United States. That latter choice might or might not continue to provide that Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, and might or might not provide that the U.S. dollar would continue to be Puerto Rico’s currency.
The Governor strongly supports statehood. But if statehood wins, then it would be up to Congress to decide whether to admit Puerto Rico as a state. Thanks to Juan Jose Nolla for this information.
