U.S. District Court in Virginia Extends Voter Registration Deadline Two Days

Posted on by October 20, 2016
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On October 20, U.S. District Court Judge Claude Hilton extended the Virginia deadline for registering to vote two more days. The state did not oppose the lawsuit, which had been filed on October 18. The reason is that the on-line voter registration page of the State Board of Elections hasn’t been working this week. It apparently crashed because too many people were trying to use it.

Both sides urged the judge to extend the deadline through Monday, October 24, but he only extended it until the end of the day Friday, October 21. There are fears that the site may crash again. The case is New Virginia Majority Education Fund v Virginia Department of Elections, e.d., 1:16cv-1319. See this story. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.

Six Write-in Presidential Candidates File to Have North Dakota Write-ins Counted

Posted on by October 20, 2016
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The North Dakota deadline for a declared write-in presidential candidate to file was October 18. Six individuals filed: Robert Buchanan, Cherunda Fox, Laurence Kotlikoff, Mike Maturen, Evan McMullin, and Marshall Schoenke.

Six presidential candidates are on the ballot in North Dakota: Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Gary Johnson, Jill Stein, Darrell Castle, and Rocky De La Fuente.

Washington State Treasurer’s Race, with Two Republicans on Ballot, Gains a Write-in Democratic Candidate

Posted on by October 20, 2016
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Because Washington state uses a top-two system, this year’s Treasurer race happens to have only two Republicans on the November ballot, Duane Davidson and Michael Waite. In the August primary, the three Democrats split up the Democratic vote, so that the two Republicans placed first and second.

Now, a Democrat has entered the race as a declared write-in. He is Eric Miller, and he is actively campaigning. Washington state (unlike California) permits write-in votes in November for top-two offices. However, so far, the media in Washington state has given him little publicity. Washington state doesn’t release write-in results unless the write-in candidate gets at least 1% of the total vote cast in that office.

New York Has Approximately 30 Declared Write-in Presidential Candidates; List Still Isn’t Final

Posted on by October 20, 2016
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New York is among the majority of states that counts presidential write-ins for candidates who filed a declaration of candidacy. The deadline for that was Tuesday, October 18. The State Board of Elections will post the list early next week. It still isn’t final, because declarations only had to be postmarked by October 18 and it is possible some more will arrive in the postal mail this week. Among the 30 who have already filed are Evan McMullin and Rocky De La Fuente.

New York has never before had nearly so many declared write-in presidential candidates. New York only requires a single candidate for presidential elector; the state does not require a full slate. That means it is easier to file in New York than in many other states.

Donald Trump’s Debate Statement that Hillary Clinton “Should Not be Allowed to Run”

Posted on by October 19, 2016
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Those who watched the October 19 presidential debate saw that Donald Trump said about Hillary Clinton, “She should not be allowed to run.” Here is one of the many news sources that show him saying that.

Under the United States Constitution, as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court in U.S. Term Limits v Thornton, anyone who is age 35, a natural born citizen, and a resident of the U.S. for at least 14 years, is permitted to run for President. Eugene Debs ran for president in 1920 while he was in a federal penitentiary for “espionage” (actually for opposing U.S. involvement in World War I). Vincent Hallinan, 1952 Progressive Party nominee, also ran for President while he was in prison.