On September 18, the Texas government filed its main brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Evenwel v Abbott. That is the lawsuit over whether the U.S. Constitution requires states to draw U.S. House and legislative districts on the basis of how many eligible voters live in the area, as opposed to the normal practice of using population. The Texas state government is defending the normal system. The people who filed the lawsuit are opposed to using population.

Although the U.S. Supreme Court has accepted this case, the Court still hasn’t set the oral argument date. Thanks to Marty Lederman for the link.

Kenneth Jackson, an independent candidate for House of Commons in the Canadian election next month, says that if he is elected, he will vote for bills on the basis of how his constituents wish. Voters who live in his district will have the ability to express their policy opinions via the internet. Furthermore, he proposes a new system of representative government, in which all members of Parliament would also vote on the basis of public opinion.

Here is his website, which explains the concept. Elections would no longer be based on geographical constituencies and there would be no political parties. Each candidate would suggest his or her own list of issues. Members of Parliament would no longer travel to the national capital to do their work.

On September 21, Harper Polling released a poll for U.S. House, New York 21st district. The results: Republican incumbent Elise Stefanik 51%; Democrat Mike Derrick 17%; Green Party nominee Matt Funiciello 13%; undecided 19%.

Funiciello ran a strong campaign for the same seat in 2012, and got 11.0% even though the race was very close between the Democratic and Republican nominees. The 21st district is the northern most part of New York state. Thanks to Green Party Watch for the link.