Kansas will probably hold a special election soon for U.S. House, to replace Congressman Mike Pompeo, who will resign from Congress to become director of the Central Intelligence Agency. This Wichita Eagle story says that Kansas has no procedure for qualified minor parties to participate in special elections. It also says independent candidates must collect approximately 17,000 signatures in 25 days.

The story seems to be in error. Kansas requires exactly 5,000 signatures for independent candidates for U.S. House, not 17,000. Also Kansas in in the Tenth Circuit, and the Tenth Circuit said in 1984 in Blomquist v Thomsen that when the normal petitioning period is shorter than usual, states must lower the required number of signatures. According to the news story, independent candidate Miranda Allen (who ran in this month’s regular election for this seat) would like to run again, but she apparently doesn’t realize that case law protects her.

Jill Stein’s web page here announces a fund-raising drive to pay for a presidential vote recount in Wisconsin, and maybe Michigan and Pennsylvania also. She is entitled to a recount because she was on the ballot in those states. However, it is expensive. She does not want a recount because she is dissatisfied with her own vote count. She is asking for a recount to learn what effect such a recount would have on the Democratic and Republican vote totals.