This news story calculates how the British May 7 election would have turned out, if Great Britain used proportional representation.
Analysis of How Britain’s Election Would Have Turned Out if Britain Used Proportional Representation
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Larry Sanders, older brother of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, was the Green Party nominee in the British May 7 election in Oxford West & Abingdon. He placed fifth. See these results. The votes in that district were: Conservative 26,153; Liberal Democrat 16,571; Labour 7,274; UKIP 3,963; Green 2,497; National Health Action 723; Socialist Party GB 66.
Texas HB 464, which would have required candidates nominated by minor party conventions to pay filing fees, has failed to pass. Even though it passed its first Committee hearing, it did not advance further, and it is now too late for it to become law.
As reported earlier, Flint, Michigan, is having a mayoral election this summer, but currently none of the four candidates’ names will be on the ballot. According to this story, state legislators who represent Flint, including the minority leader in the State Senate, are working to write a bill that would ease the problem. At the very end of the story, the article says the Secretary of State is aware of the effort, and does not plan to take a position on the proposed legislation.
On May 8, the Ninth Circuit ruled that a resident of Guam is entitled to get a ruling on whether a particular Guam election law is unconstitutional. Guam law says residents who are descended from someone who was living in Guam in 1898 are entitled to register to vote in a special election on the future political status of Guam. The future election will ask eligible voters if Guam should become independent, join a compact of free association with the United States, or apply for statehood.
The plaintiff is not descended from someone who was living in Guam in 1898, but he wanted to register for that election. The U.S. District Court in Guam had refused to adjudicate the claim, on the basis that the election won’t occur until 70% of the eligible residents sign up, and so far the number of people who have signed up is far below that percentage. But the Ninth Circuit said the plaintiff is entitled to have his case heard, even if it is not known if the election will ever be held. The majority opinion says, “Unequal treatment is an injury even if curing the inequality has no tangible consequences.”
The case now goes back to U.S. District Court. It is Davis v Guam, 13-15199. It had been argued August 27, 2014, so took almost ninth months to be written. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.