In the United States, no elected officials on a law-making body (except for the U.S. Senate) have as many constituents as Los Angeles County Supervisors. Each of the five supervisors has approximately two million constituents. Dan Walters, politics and government columnist for the Sacramento Bee has this column, arguing that the county should have a larger legislative body. All county and city elections in California are non-partisan. California is the only state with a constitutional provision requiring that all local government elections be non-partisan; most states let each jurisdiction decide for itself whether to have partisan or non-partisan elections.

On October 30, a group of Northern Cheyenne voter-plaintiffs obtained a ruling from the Ninth Circuit in Wandering Medicine v McCulloch, 12-35926. Last year election administrators in three Montana counties refused to open satellite voting offices in certain Native American reservations that are remote from county seats. A U.S. District Court Judge last year upheld the election administrators. The Ninth Circuit has now vacated the U.S. District Court decision. The plaintiffs will re-argue the case for future elections. The U.S. District Court had dismissed the case on the grounds that Native Americans have been successful in electing their own members to county office. That U.S. District Court Judge has since retired and now the case will go to another U.S. District Court Judge.

Satellite voting offices make it possible for individuals to register late in the season, and also to participate in early voting.

The November 3 Plain Dealer, Cleveland’s daily newspaper, has this editorial, strongly condemning SB 193, the ballot access bill.