History Professor Allen Lichtman Testifies that North Carolina Legislature Deliberately Changed Election Laws to Depress Black Turnout

Posted on by July 18, 2015
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On July 17, History professor Allen Lichtman testified in the ongoing North Carolina trial over changes to laws that affect voting. He testified that the legislators who voted for the bill intended to reduce the participation of Black voters. See this story.

Lichtman has testified in election lawsuits in the past. In 1991 he testified in favor of the New Alliance Party, in its lawsuit against the April petition deadline for new parties in Alabama. In 2004, he testified against Ralph Nader and the Reform Party in the lawsuit over whether Nader should be on the Florida ballot.

Colorado Newspaper Op-Ed Advocates National Popular Vote Plan

Posted on by July 18, 2015
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The Longmont, Colorado Times-Call has this op-ed in favor of the National Popular Vote Plan. Colorado has not passed the plan. The op-ed, by Brian Litwin, contains an inaccurate statement. The op-ed says the electoral college was created to preserve the interests of the small-population states. Actually, historians of the Constitutional Convention have demonstrated that the concerns of low-population states were ameliorated by the provision of the Constitution giving each state two U.S. Senators. The purpose of the electoral college was to ameliorate the concerns of the slave states, most of which had very limited franchise in 1789. A popular vote for President would have found far more votes being cast by voters of free states.

North Carolina Legislature Now Likely to Choose March 15 for Presidential Primary

Posted on by July 17, 2015
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On July 18, North Carolina legislative leaders decided that the 2016 presidential primary should be on March 15. Back in April 2015, the House had passed HB 457 to move that primary from February to March 8. That bill had not made any headway in the Senate.

For some reason, HB 457 will be abandoned and HB 373 will be the vehicle for the change. This story says it will soon be heard in the Senate committee.

It is somewhat extravagant for North Carolina government to pay for a March 15 presidential primary and then pay for a May 3 primary for all other office.

Working Families Party Organizing in Wisconsin

Posted on by July 17, 2015
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According to this story, the Working Families Party is organizing in Wisconsin. Wisconsin does not permit fusion, and generally the Working Families Party only becomes ballot-qualified in states that have fusion. However, the party may be feeling more confident about running and winning races without fusion. It has elected two of its nominees in special legislative elections this year, and in neither case was the WFP nominee also the nominee of the Democratic Party. The two 2015 legislative wins were to the Connecticut State Senate and the New York Assembly.