Florida Will Hold First Statewide Primary for a Party Other than Democratic or Republican

Florida will hold a statewide primary for the Libertarian Party on August 30, for U.S. Senate. The candidates are Augustus Invictus and Paul Stanton. Here is a link to the list of primary candidates so far. The list may grow, because the filing deadline is June 24. Thanks to Rich Moroney for the link.

Florida has not held a statewide primary for any party, other than the Democratic and Republican Parties, since 1920. Although technically all parties nominate by primary in Florida (if they qualify in time for the primary), no primary is actually held unless at least two candidates for the same office file. A few years ago Florida held a Libertarian primary, but it was just for one state house district.

Latest Election Returns Show No Republican Will be on November 2016 Ballot for U.S. House in San Francisco

The California Secretary of State’s web page for election returns from June 2016 now shows that Preston Picus placed second for U.S. House, 12th district, behind Democrat Nancy Pelosi and ahead of Republican candidate Bob Miller. The June 21 results are: Picus 16,581; Miller 16,546. This will be the first time in history that no Republican has been on the ballot for U.S. House in the San Francisco-based district.

There will be eight U.S. House races in November in California with no Republican on the ballot. This is somewhat similar to 2014, when there were 9 such districts.

Britain Uses Paper Ballots, Marked by Hand, for June 23 Referendum on Leaving the European Union

Great Britain will use simple paper ballots, marked by pen, for the June 23 referendum on whether the country should leave the European Union. Nothing else is on the ballot. See here for a picture of the ballot (scroll down), and to read who is eligible to vote. The polls are open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thanks to Thomas Jones for the link.

Jonathan Rauch Suggests the U.S. Would be Better Off Without Primaries

Jonathan Rauch, a scholar and author who writes frequently for The Atlantic, has this article that says the U.S. might be better off if it had not instituted government-administered primaries. His article covers other topics also, including internal congressional procedures, and campaign finance.

No other country has government-administered primaries and laws that force parties to use primaries. Thanks to the Center for Competitive Politics for the link.