Political Scientist Eric McGhee Analyzes the California Special State Election, 7th District

Posted on by March 21, 2015
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California held a special election to fill the vacant State Senate seat, 7th district, on March 17.  Steve Glazer, a Democrat who has fought certain unions for the last several years, easily placed first, and a Democratic Assemblymember placed second.  Since no one got as much as 50%, there will be a runoff in May between the two Democrats.

Eric McGhee has this analysis of the race.  He points out that under the old system, in which California used a blanket primary for special elections between 1967 and 2010, Glazer would be in a runoff with the lone Republican in the race, and would have a much easier time in the runoff, because this district is predominantly Democratic, although not overwhelmingly so.

North Dakota Bill for Special U.S. Senate Elections is Heard in Committee

Posted on by March 21, 2015
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North Dakota is one of 36 states in which, when there is a U.S. Senate vacancy, the governor appoints someone who serves until the next regularly-scheduled congressional election.  Last month the North Dakota House passed a bill requiring a special election for U.S. Senate when the seat becomes vacant, unless a regular election is quite close in time.

On March 20, the North Dakota Senate Government & Veterans Affairs Committee heard the bill.  The committee hasn’t acted yet.  Here is a story about the hearing.

Great Britain to Hold Four Televised Joint Appearances for Prime Minister Candidates

Posted on by March 21, 2015
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Great Britain holds a parliamentary election on May 7.  There will be four televised joint appearances for various candidates for Prime Minister.

On March 26, the Conservative and Labour Party candidates, including the incumbent, David Cameron, will answer questions from the press, although this is not a debate.

On April 2, the leaders of seven parties will debate each other.  They are the Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democratic, UKIP, Green, Scottish National, and Plaid Cymru Parties.

On April 16, the leaders of five parties will debate each other.  They are the same as the seven parties involved on April 2, except that the Conservative and Liberal Democratic Parties won’t participate.

Finally, on April 30, a joint question-and-answer session will be held with the Conservative, Labour, and Liberal Democratic leaders.  See this story.  Thanks to Thomas Jones for the link.

Greenville County, South Carolina, Republican Party Loses Lawsuit over Open Primary

Posted on by March 21, 2015
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On March 17, the Greenville County, South Carolina, Republican Party lost its lawsuit over South Carolina’s open primary.  The Fourth Circuit decision, Greenville County Republican Party Executive Committee v Greenville County Election Commission, 13-2170, is 28 pages.

The lawsuit had been filed in 2010 by the county Republican Party and also the state Republican Party.  It challenged state law that requires all parties that nominate by primary to use an open primary, in which any registered voter can participate.  The party wanted to exclude voters who are loyal to other political parties.  One weakness in the case from the beginning is that South Carolina lets parties nominate by convention instead of open primary if they wish.  However, a state law said that if a party wants to switch from an open primary to a convention, the resolution authorizing the change must be made by a vote of three-fourths of all the delegates at the state convention.  Delegates who didn’t vote because they weren’t in the room at the time, or had gone home, were automatically deemed to have voted “no.”  Therefore, the lawsuit also challenged the three-fourths law.

In 2014, the South Carolina state party withdrew from the lawsuit.  The Fourth Circuit opinion says that the Greenville County Republican Party doesn’t have standing to challenge the three-fourths law, or the state law on open primaries.  In another blow to the lawsuit, in 2014 Greenville city (which is in Greenville County) switched from having partisan elections to non-partisan city elections.  Therefore, the remaining strong complaint by the county party, that it was being forced to pay administrative costs to hold a city primary, was made moot.  The county party argued that the city might at any time switch back to having partisan elections, but the Fourth Circuit felt this is unlikely.  The Court appears not to have known that an initiative petition has been filed by some Greenville voters, and the petition has enough valid signatures, so the city will soon be voting on whether to reinstate partisan city elections.  See this story.

South Dakota Governor Signs Bill that Injures Ballot Access

Posted on by March 20, 2015
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On March 20, South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard signed SB 69, which injures ballot access for newly-qualifying parties and independent candidates.  The bill had passed the legislature on a party-line vote, with Republicans supporting the bill and Democrats opposing it.

The bill says members of qualified parties can no longer sign an independent candidate’s petition.  No other state currently has such a requirement.  Arizona passed this restriction in 1993, but it was declared unconstitutional in 1999.

The bill also moves the deadline for a newly-qualifying party from the last Tuesday in March to the first Tuesday in March.  For 2016, the deadline moves from March 29 to March 1.  South Dakota generally has harsh winters, and the bill requires a new party that is formed at the beginning of an election year to gather over 7,000 valid signatures in winter weather.

The deadline for a new party was put into April in 1984, and in 2007 moved to late March.