In 2016, Marco Rubio was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. His ballot status in the Arkansas Republican presidential primary was challenged by another candidate, David Librace, on the grounds that Rubio’s parents were never citizens of the United States, and therefore Rubio was not a “natural born citizen.” The case was Librace v Martin, e.d., 4:16cv-57.

The decision said that Librace did not have standing, and did not discuss the bigger issues in the case.

Rubio’s attorney, Jason Torchinsky, filed a brief in the case that argues that all persons born in the U.S., except for the children of foreign diplomats and the children of an invading army, are automatically citizens. This stance contradicts President Trump’s position on the matter. Currently Marco Rubio is the Secretary of State.

Here are the election results for the August 18 by-election in Alberta, Canada. Because 214 candidates qualified, the elections office decided to print blank ballots, so that all votes were write-in votes. Each polling place had a list of all the qualified candidates.

Only seventeen candidates got as many as ten votes.

The reason there were so many candidates is that a group deliberately recruited as many candidates as possible, to protest the failure of the Canadian government to switch to some form of proportional representation, after decades of agitation. Canadian House of Commons candidates need 100 signatures, plus a filing fee of $1,000.

Here is a picture of the write-in ballot.

On August 18, the California Assembly amended ACA 8 to become a vehicle for redistricting U.S. House districts. The original bill did not relate to redistricting. Read it here. It does not take effect unless other states also redistrict in the next few years. It also endorses a U.S. Constitutional amendment to outlaw partisan redistricting. It has a hearing on August 19 in the Assembly Elections Committee, at 10:30 a.m.

The Assembly Elections Committee will also hear SB 280, which authorizes a special election on November 4, 2025, for voters to vote on the proposed constitutional amendment, assuming the legislature has passed it first. And the Committee will hold an informational hearing on AB 604, which has the new proposed U.S. House districts.