On August 18, the California Assembly passed SB 1288, letting all cities and counties use instant runoff voting for elections for their own officers. The vote was 48-26. The bill must now return to the State Senate, because the Assembly had amended the bill slightly. Six Democrats in the Assembly voted “no”; five Republicans voted “yes.” In the past, Republicans in the California legislature had been uniformly hostile to IRV, so the support from a few Republican legislators is a surprise.

Under current law, only charter cities and charter counties can use IRV. Thanks to Steve Chessin for this news.

The Daily Press, daily newspaper for Newport News, Virginia, has this story about whether Evan McMullin will get on the ballot as an independent presidential candidate in Virginia. The reporters were not able to find any campaign spokesperson to interview, but from indirect evidence, the story concludes McMullin is very unlikely to qualify. He needs 5,000 signatures by August 26.

McMullin in the recent past has said he would sue California and Texas, but he has not filed such cases.

Alabama’s petition deadline for independent presidential candidates is 4:30 pm on Thursday, August 18. Three petitions were submitted: Rocky De La Fuente, Gary Johnson, and Jill Stein. Here is a news story noting that Evan McMullin did not submit a petition.