On July 1, CNN released a poll for the race for the Republican presidential nomination, showing that three candidates are tied for tenth place at 3%. If polls continue in this vein, it will be very difficult for Fox, the sponsor of the August 6 Republican presidential debate, to decide who is in their chief debate (although Fox has already said it will have another debate for those not in the top ten but who are at 1%). See this story. Fox says the top ten candidates will be in the chief debate.

A California non-profit 501(c)(3) organization called “Innovate Your State” has set up a “Fix California Challenge”, in which California voters are able to read about, comment upon, and vote for, ideas to improve California government. One of the proposals is to elect at least one house of the California legislature using proportional representation. Steve Chessin, president of Californians for Electoral Reform, wrote the proposal, which can be read here.

Californians who register with “Innovate Your State” can vote on this proposal, or any proposal. After one is signed up, large arrows appear above and below the vote tally. A vote is cast by clicking on one of the arrows. The proposal went up on July 1 and so far it has five “yes” votes.

The Argus Leader of Sioux Falls, the largest newspaper in South Dakota, has this story about the referendum drive that attacks SB 69. SB 69, signed into law earlier this year, made restrictive changes for ballot access. As a result of the referendum petition’s success, the law won’t be in effect in 2016 and voters will decide whether to repeal it.