The New York Times has this story about polling inaccuracies in several important national elections this year, around the world. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.
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After every presidential and/or congressional election in the United States, there are always three leading sources for election returns. For the 2014 election, however, two of those three sources still haven’t been published. The only one that has been published is “Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2014.” The author is the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. The publication is free but it is often difficult to obtain a copy; anyone who wants one might ask his or her member of the U.S. House for help.
The Federal Election Commission always publishes an election returns book, called “Federal Elections (insert year here)”. But it isn’t out yet for 2014. Congressional Quarterly always publishes “America Votes” but the 2014 volume isn’t out yet. These latter two publications are more useful than the Clerk’s book, because the latter two publications include primary election returns. But the Clerk’s book doesn’t. The two late publications will probably be out by the end of 2015.
On November 10, the city council of Highland, California, will vote on a resolution to use cumulative voting in city council elections. According to this story, the measure is likely to pass. Highland is near San Bernardino, and has a population of 53,000.
On November 9, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie vetoed AB 4613, which provided for automatic registration of adult citizens. The legislature had passed the bill on June 29. Governor Christie waited until the last possible day for him to decide what to do about the bill.
The New Yorker has this article about polls, especially election polls, in U.S. history. There is much ammunition in this article to attack the idea that candidates should be invited into debates on the basis of poll results. Thanks to PoliticalWire for the link.