Harvard Law Record Carries Account of Corruption in Pennsylvania Process that Kept Ralph Nader Off the Ballot and then Punished Him with Costs

Posted on by July 21, 2015
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The Harvard Law Record has this detailed account of how corrupt officials in Pennsylvania were assisted by the prominent law firm Reed Smith, in the matter of Nader’s ejection from the Pennsylvania ballot in November 2004. Not only was Nader removed from the ballot, his bank account was seized for over $70,000 in court costs. Later evidence came out that the challengers themselves were illegally using state employees on state time, and state computers, but no Pennsylvania court would do anything about it.

Fox News Changes Second-Tier Presidential Forum

Posted on by July 21, 2015
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On July 20, Fox News said it has changed the time for the second-tier Republican presidential candidate forum from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on August 6. The second-tier event is the consolation prize for the candidates who don’t make the top ten and who can’t appear in the 9 p.m. August 6 event.

The change in time for the second-tier event will increase the number of people who watch. See this story. Fox also shrunk the time for the second-tier event from 90 minutes to one hour, because there are only going to be six or seven candidates in the second-tier event.

Canadian Appeals Court Upholds Law Barring Canadian Citizens from Voting in Canada Elections if the Have Been Outside Canada for More than 5 Years

Posted on by July 21, 2015
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On July 20, a Canadian Appeals Court upheld a Canadian election law that bars Canadian citizens from voting if they have lived permanently outside Canada for more than five years. The lower court had struck the law down. The case will probably be appealed to the Canadian Supreme Court.

There is no such law in the United States, and some U.S. citizens have lived in foreign countries for up to fifty years or more and yet continue to vote absentee. But U.S. citizens can’t vote absentee if they move to a U.S. possession.

See this story. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.

Ann Arbor City Council Defeats Measure to Ask Voters if They Prefer Non-Partisan City Elections

Posted on by July 21, 2015
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Ann Arbor, Michigan has partisan elections for city office. On the evening of July 20, the city council voted down a proposal to let the voters decide if non-partisan elections should replace them. Supporters of non-partisan elections may do a city initiative, however. See this story.

In the 1970’s, the Human Rights Party, which was a ballot-qualified party in Michigan, won several seats on the Ann Arbor city council, but now the council is entirely composed of Democrats.