SurveyUSA Ohio Gubernatorial Poll Includes Green Party Nominee

On April 30, SurveyUSA released a poll for the Ohio gubernatorial election. The results: John Kasich, Republican incumbent, 46%; Democrat Ed Fitzgerald 36%; Anita Rios, Green, 4%; undecided 14%. Scroll down to question four.

The decision of the poll to include that configuration is strange. Anita Rios won’t be on the November ballot unless she gets at least 500 write-in votes in the Green Party primary. And we don’t know if the Libertarian, Charlie Earl, will be on the November ballot until the 6th circuit rules on his ballot access case. That should come out at any time; the hearing was eight days ago.

U.S. District Court Strikes Down Wisconsin Government Photo-ID Law for Voters at the Polls

On April 29, U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Adelman, a Clinton appointee, found that Wisconsin’s 2011 law requiring voters at the polls to show certain types of government photo-ID violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, and also violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Here is the 90-page opinion in Frank v Walker, 2:11cv-1128.

The law had not been in effect, because the Wisconsin Supreme Court had enjoined it from being used while several lawsuits in state court are also pending. The decision depends on evidence submitted at trial, and concludes that approximately 300,000 Wisconsin potential voters do not have the type of government photo-ID the law requires. The decision also finds that black and Hispanic voters are less likely than other voters to have the correct type of ID. Although the state government Department of Motor Vehicles provides state ID are no cost, the decision finds that those offices are almost entirely not open on weekends or evenings, and also notes that it is difficult for many individuals to get a state ID because they lack the documents needed to get a state ID. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.

Survey USA Georgia Gubernatorial Poll Shows Libertarian Nominee Andrew Hunt at 9%

On April 29, Survey USA released a Georgia poll, including a gubernatorial general election poll. The results: Republican incumbent Nathan Deal 41%, Democrat Jason Carter 37%, Libertarian Andrew Hunt 9%, undecided 13%. See here for more detail.

If Hunt did poll 9%, that would be the highest share of the vote for a Georgia gubernatorial candidate running outside the major parties since 1898, when the Peoples Party nominee J. R. Hogan got 30.2% of the vote in a two-candidate race. If the Libertarians could get 9% for Governor, a proposed lawsuit that would argue it is unconstitutional to keep that party off the ballot for U.S. House races (unless a petition is completed that is so difficult, it has never been used by any new or minor party) would be overwhelmingly strong. Thanks to PoliticalWire for the link.