On January 26, Democratic State Representative Keith English, who represents Missouri’s 68th district, said he is leaving the Democratic Party and becoming an independent. See this story.
At the November 2014 election, English was re-elected as a Democrat with 6,758 votes. His only opponent, Republican Becky Sharma, received 3,435. Thanks to Michael for the link.
A lower state court in Albuquerque will hear Crum v Duran on Tuesday, February 10, at 10 a.m. This is the case in which the plaintiff, an independent voter, argues that the New Mexico Constitution protects his right to vote in partisan primaries. The New Mexico State Constitution, Article VIII, section one, says, “Every person who is a qualified elector pursuant to the Constitution and laws of the United States and a citizen thereof shall be qualified to vote in all elections in New Mexico, subject to residency and registration requirements.”
Currently, the only parties entitled to their own primary in New Mexico are the Democratic and Republican Parties. Although either of them is free at any time to invite independents to vote in their primary, neither has done so.
The other recognized parties in New Mexico nominate by convention. They are the Constitution, Green, Independent American, and Libertarian Parties.
John Myers of California public broadcasting has this clear and interesting article about the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in Arizona State Legislature v Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. This is the case over whether Article One mandates that only state legislatures, and not other state agencies, can draw U.S. House district boundaries. Thanks to AroundtheCapitol for the link.
The Bangor Daily News has this op-ed by former State Senator Dick Woodbury, advocating support for the initiative for ranked-choice voting that will be on the ballot in November 2016. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.
Montana Representative Geraldine Custer has withdrawn HB 70, her bill to establish all postal voting for Montana. The bill had the support of Secretary of State Linda McCulloch, but Representative Custer and Secretary of State McCulloch determined that the bill would not pass, so it was withdrawn. Thanks to Mike Fellows for this news. The states that send a ballot in the postal mail to all voters are Oregon, Washington, and Colorado.
