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.
This ACLU press release says that Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach has finally agreed to recognize all voters who filled out voter registration forms, and to inform them that they are properly registered. He made this concession shortly before he had to face contempt of court charges.
An Alaska state trial court is trying to determine who won Alaska’s Democratic primary in the 40th state house district. See this story, which says that a decision on the proper winner is not expected until October 7.
On September 18, Russia held a parliamentary election. Fifteen parties were on the ballot, and four of them won seats. One of the foreign election observers was Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill. See this story about his observations on the Russian election.
Merrill is presiding over the Alabama general election of November 8, 2016. Alabama’s election this year gives voters far fewer choices, and fewer due process protections, than almost any other state in the United States. Alabama is one of only two states in which the Democratic and Republican Parties are the only two parties on the ballot; the other state is Tennessee. Alabama forces the two leading minor party presidential candidates, Gary Johnson and Jill Stein, to appear on the ballot without their party label.
Alabama disqualified the third presidential candidate who petitioned as an independent, Rocky De La Fuente, on August 27, after having told him he had enough valid signatures and that his petition was valid. The late decision to remove him is being contested in court, with a decision expected on Friday, September 30.
The Alabama Libertarian Party had petitioned for party status in one county this year, but even though the party submitted twice as many signatures and double-checked its own petition and found it valid, Jefferson County officials said it was not valid. The county officials did not even tell the party why its petition had been rejected. The party considered suing but in the end did not find an attorney.
The September 29 Detroit News has this endorsement of Gary Johnson for President. The Detroit News is one of the two daily newspapers in Detroit.
Also, the print New York Times of September 28 has an op-ed by Gary Johnson. The title in the print edition is “The Party That Offers Real Choice”, but the title on-line is “Take a deep breath voters; there is a third way.” Thanks to Warren Redlich for the Detroit News link.
