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Survey USA Poll on Kansas 2014 Gubernatorial Race

Posted on October 25, 2013 by adminOctober 25, 2013

On October 25, Survey USA released a poll on the Kansas 2014 gubernatorial race. The results: Sam Brownback (incumbent Republican) 39%, Paul Davis (Democrat) 43%, “third party ticket” 12%, undecided 6%. See more details here, including breakdowns by race, sex, age, and party affiliation.

The only party on the Kansas ballot currently, other than the Democratic and Republican Parties, is the Libertarian Party. The likely Democratic nominee, Paul Davis, is the minority leader in the Kansas House.

The Reform Party was removed from the Kansas ballot earlier this year by the Secretary of State, but the Secretary of State’s action violated precedent, and if the Reform Party were to file a lawsuit, it would have a good chance of winning. However, to date, as far as is known, the Reform Party has not fought the ruling. Thanks to PoliticalWire for the link.

U.S. District Court in Alabama Expedites Ballot Access Case for Special U.S. House Election

Posted on October 25, 2013 by adminOctober 25, 2013

On October 25, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Fuller expedited the lawsuit Hall v Bennett. A status conference will be held on Monday, October 28, at 9 a.m., in Montgomery. The issue is whether Alabama must relax its ballot access requirements for the upcoming December 17 special election, for the vacant U.S. House seat, First District. The plaintiff, James Hall, an independent candidate, submitted 2,835 signatures by the state-imposed September deadline. The law requires almost 6,000 valid signatures (3% of the last gubernatorial vote within the district).

The lawsuit is based on Eleventh Circuit precedent that when the normal petitioning time is not available, the state must either reduce the number of signatures, or extend the deadline somewhat. Normally, independent candidates in Alabama can take as long as they wish to complete the petition. In this case, of course, because the special election was a surprise event, the normal petitioning period was far shorter than in regularly-scheduled elections. The Republican Party still hasn’t chosen its nominee, but it will do so in a run-off primary on November 5.

Daily Newspaper in Kearney, Nebraska, Welcomes Independent Candidate into U.S. Senate Race

Posted on October 25, 2013 by adminOctober 25, 2013

Although the 2014 election is more than a year away, the Kearney Hub, the biggest daily newspaper in south-central Nebraska, has already editorialized that independent candidate Jim Jenkins will be good for the race for U.S. Senate. No incumbent is running. See the editorial here.

Purple PAC to Make Independent Expenditures of at Least $300,000 for Rob Sarvis

Posted on October 25, 2013 by adminOctober 25, 2013

See this Uncovered Politics post, which links to news stories that the Purple PAC will make independent expenditures of at least $300,000 to promote Rob Sarvis, the Libertarian nominee for Virginia Governor. The money, or most of it, will be used for television advertising.

Meanwhile, the October 25 New York Times has this lengthy story about the Virginia race, and manages to avoid any mention of Sarvis whatsoever.

Colorado Supreme Court Explains Why it Struck Down Voting Restriction Involving Recall Elections

Posted on October 25, 2013 by adminOctober 25, 2013

On October 21, the Colorado Supreme Court released a full opinion in In re Interrogatory Propounded by Governor Hickenlooper, 13-SA-214. The Colorado Constitution says that a voter who fails to vote on whether or not to recall an official may not vote on who should fill the vacancy created by the recall. The Colorado Supreme Court invalidated this part of the state Constitution. The vote was 5-2. Here is the opinion.

The Court had already decided this issue before the recent recall elections for two State Senators, but only now has the Court explained its reasoning. The decision will be a good precedent within Colorado in the future, because it stresses the freedom for voters to vote freely.