On September 29, California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed SB 1288. It would have let all California cities and counties use instant runoff voting for their own elections. Currently, only charter cities and counties can make that choice. The veto message says that instant runoff voting is too confusing for some voters.
The United States Agency for International Development, a government agency established in 1961 (USAID) in 2014 published recommendations to debate sponsors around the world. USAID recommended that debate sponsors be inclusive when they decide which parties and candidates to invite. See this article in The Intercept by Lee Fang.
Although Indiana still has a straight-ticket device, this year the device does not apply to partisan races in which more than one person is to be elected. This interesting article in the Terre Haute daily newspaper, the Tribune Star, discusses the consequences, with much emphasis on independent and minor party candidates.
The Hill has this commentary by Jill Stein about the general election debates. Thanks to Hugh Esco for the link.
On September 28, a Michigan state court refused to order Wayne County to reprint its ballots. The plaintiffs had sought to have the ballots reprinted to remove the name of Ruth Carter as a candidate for re-election to state district court. Carter filed for re-election but then retired from the bench. If she is re-elected, she won’t take the office and the vacancy will be filled by appointment. See this story. Thanks to Thomas Jones for the link.
