According to this story, the consortium of Canadian broadcasters that sponsors election debates before Parliamentary elections will invite the leaders of five parties to debate each other.
The election itself is October 19, 2015.
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On April 14, a Virginia state court ruled that Joe Morrissey can’t be on the Democratic primary ballot for State Senate. He was kept off the primary ballot because the local Democratic Party said he didn’t have 250 valid signatures on his petition, even though he submitted 972 and even though local election officials said he had enough valid signatures. See this story.
Rhode Island Representative Brian Newberry (R-New Smithfield) has introduced HB 6054, to move the presidential primary from the fourth Tuesday in April to the fourth Tuesday in March. For 2016, that would be March 22. Thanks to Josh Putnam for this news.
Ohio Representative Mike Dovilla (R-Berea) has introduced HB 153, to move the primary for president and all other office, in presidential years, from the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March, to the second Tuesday. If the bill passed, the Ohio 2016 primary for president and all office would move from March 8 to March 15.
If the bill were enacted, it would have no effect on the petition deadline for minor parties. But it would ease the non-presidential independent candidate petition deadline by one week. Thanks to Josh Putnam for the news about the bill.
According to this story, Ohio State Supreme Court Justice Bill O’Neill has sharply criticized the Ohio Democratic Party for endorsing one particular candidate for the party’s 2016 U.S. Senate nomination. Ohio Supreme Court Justices are elected in partisan elections, and O’Neill is the only Democrat holding a statewide office in Ohio. O’Neill urged his Facebook friends to “leave the Democratic Party.”
Although Ohio elects State Supreme Court Justices on a partisan basis, the ballot does not show party labels for that office. Parties nominate State Supreme Court Justices in conventions.