Dates have been set for Great Britain’s televised debates between leaders of seven political parties. The two 7-party debates will be April 2 and April 16. Then there will be a third debate, for just the Conservative and Labour party leaders. See this story.
On February 19, the Arizona Senate Judiciary Committee passed SCR 1001 on a party-line vote, with all Republicans voting “yes” and all Democrats voting “no.”. The measure would place a ballot measure on the November 2016 ballot, asking voters if they wish to divert all funding from the public funding of campaigns and instead give that approximately $10,000,000 per year to the State Education Department. The same measure is in the House, as HCR 2004. Thanks to the Center for Competitive Politics for the news.
On February 19, a subcommittee of the Virginia House Privileges and Elections Committee defeated SB 840 by 4-3. The bill provided that when U.S. House and state legislative districts are drawn, no district should be drawn to help any political party or incumbent legislator. Addresses of incumbent legislators were not to be included in any data base concerned with districting, nor could any data about an area’s voting history be included.
The bill had passed the State Senate on February 2 by a unanimous vote. See this story. The picture above the story appears to be a salamander, the animal that lent its name to “gerrymander.”
On February 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. heard oral argument in Tuana v USA, 13-5272. The issue is whether the 14th amendment confers U.S. citizenship on persons born in American Samoa. The judges are Janice Rogers Brown, Laurence H. Silberman, and David B. Sentelle. Here is a Mother Jones article about the case. Thanks to Howard Bashman for the link.
Professor J. David Gillespie has this op-ed in The State, daily newspaper for Columbia, South Carolina. The op-ed notes how few legislative races have both a Republican and a Democrat on the general election ballot, and points out that minor parties perform a useful service for voters by giving them more choices.
