The Oregonian, Largest Newspaper in Oregon, Again Endorses Top-Two Ballot Measure

Posted on by October 18, 2014
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On October 15, The Oregonian, Portland’s daily newspaper, endorsed measure 90, the top-two system. The newspaper endorsed the same proposal in 2008, the year it was defeated in Oregon by a vote of 2-1.

The editorial’s main point is that U.S. House races in Oregon are now perpetually safe for incumbents. But if Measure 90 were in effect, there is no reason to think U.S. House races in Oregon would be any more exciting. Washington state has been using top-two starting in 2008, and no incumbent member of the U.S. House from Washington has been defeated, or even come close to being defeated, since top-two has been in effect.

Los Angeles May Switch Elections for City Office from Odd Years to Even Years

Posted on by October 18, 2014
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On October 17, a Los Angeles city council committee passed a bill, switching elections for city office from the spring of odd years, to coincide with federal elections in even years. Currently the city holds an election in March of odd years for city office, with run-offs when no one gets 50% two months later. The bill would switch elections to June of even-numbered years, with a runoff in November if no one got 50%.

See this story, which indicates there are other proposals. The story does not say if the committee considered ranked-choice voting.

Write-in Candidate Likely to be Elected Treasurer of Buena Vista County, Iowa

Posted on by October 18, 2014
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The treasurer of Buena Vista County, Iowa, was running for re-election this year, unopposed. However, after the ballots were printed, she died. According to this story, Sheri Elbert has now declared as a write-in candidate, and so far there are no other write-in candidates.

This illustrates one reason why it is rational for states to include write-in space on ballots. Also it illustrates that it is a bad idea for states to require write-in candidates to file a declaration of candidacy months before an election, as Florida, North Carolina, and Ohio do.

Iowa does not have a requirement that write-in candidates must file a declaration of candidacy in advance of the election. Theoretically, all write-in votes in Iowa are valid. However, Iowa does not generally canvass write-in votes, unless there is a hint that a write-in candidate might have polled enough write-ins to win.

Mayday Finally Endorses its First Non-Major Party Candidate for Congress

Posted on by October 18, 2014
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Mayday is a PAC created by Lawrence Lessig earlier this year. The goal of Mayday is to elect members of Congress who will support public funding for congressional campaigns. When Mayday was created, its rules required that only Democrats and Republicans could earn support from Mayday. However, the organization has shifted that stance, and on May 17 endorsed Greg Orman, independent for U.S. Senate from Kansas.

See here for the full list of candidates supported by Mayday. The candidate listed on the bottom, for the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in New Hampshire, has already been defeated; the other endorsed candidates are running in the general election. Mayday has raised over $10,000,000. Mayday has endorsed the Democratic nominee in the South Dakota U.S. Senate race, even though some polls show that independent candidate Larry Pressler has more support than the Democratic nominee.

U.S. Supreme Court Won’t Disturb Fifth Circuit Ruling that Reinstated Texas Government Photo-ID

Posted on by October 18, 2014
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Very early Saturday morning, October 18, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to interfere with the recent decision of the Fifth Circuit that reinstated the Texas requirement that voters at the polls show a particular form of government photo-I.D. Apparently the order appeared between 5 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. See this Scotusblog news story. Thanks to Jim Riley for the news.

The vote was either 5-3 or 6-3. There are three dissents, but no listed vote for the action itself. However, the action could not have occurred without the votes of at least five justices.