The Texas Tribune has gathered data on write-ins for president last month in three of the state’s biggest counties, Harris, Tarrant, and Travis. The reporters learned information about write-ins for candidates who had not registered as write-in candidates. Over 4,000 write-ins were cast for Bernie Sanders. Thanks to Gene Armistead for the link.
On December 9, Colorado filed this brief in Baca v Hickenlooper, the case over whether presidential electors can vote for any qualified presidential candidate, or whether they can be replaced if they vote for someone different than expected.
The only U.S. Supreme Court precedent on this subject is Ray v Blair, 1952. Most people probably don’t realize when they read about Ray v Blair that in 1952 and previous years, the Alabama Democratic Party chose its candidates for presidential elector in a primary. Nowadays, no party chooses candidates for presidential elector in a primary. In Ray v Blair, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Democratic Party rule that no one could get on a party’s primary ballot (as a candidate for presidential elector) unless that person signed a pledge promising to vote for the party’s eventual presidential nominee. Thus Ray v Blair was about the right of parties to control who could seek their nomination. It was not about the ability of presidential electors to vote freely in December. Thanks to Politico for the link.
UPDATE: here is the brief of the intervenor, the Colorado Republican Committee.
On December 2, the Ohio voters who officially sponsored the Gary Johnson petition to be on the ballot in 2016 for president asked the Ohio Secretary of State to recognize them as the Libertarian Party. Those voters’ names appeared on the petition, and they were the individuals who (after the petition was submitted) informed the Secretary of State that the stand-in presidential candidate whose name had been on the ballot were resigning, and that Gary Johnson and Bill Weld were the replacements.
Section 3517.01(A), which governs how new parties may qualify for the ballot, permits groups of voters who sponsor candidates for President or Governor to apply for recognition as a new party, provided their candidate gets at least 3% of the vote. The official election returns show that he got 3.17% in Ohio.
Here is the letter.
On December 9, a U.S. District Court Judge in Colorado set a hearing date in Baca v Hickenlooper. This is the Colorado lawsuit over whether the Secretary of State can remove presidential electors who say they won’t vote for their party’s presidential nominee. The hearing is at 3 p.m. in Denver federal courthouse, room A-1002. The plaintiff presidential electors are seeking a court order to safeguard their positions as electors. The state’s brief is due by Friday, December 9, at 5 p.m.
UPDATE: the Colorado Republican Party has asked to intervene in the lawsuit, and the state has asked for permission from the court to file an oversized brief.
On December 9, U.S. District Court Judge James Peterson, an Obama appointee, refused to halt the Wisconsin presidential recount initiated by Jill Stein. The lawsuit is Great America PAC v Wisconsin Election Commission, w.d., 16cv-795. It was filed December 1. The recount is 88% finished anyway.
So far, the output from the court is simply a notation “denied.”
