Virginia will hold a special election soon to fill a vacancy in the House of Delegates. The vacancy was caused when Delegate Joseph D. Morrissey, a Democrat, resigned. He resigned because he plea-bargained to a misdemeanor; this article explains more about that. He recently announced that he will run in the special election to return to the legislature. See this story, which suggests that the Democratic Party is not likely to nominate him, but that he is free to run as an independent.
On November 4, 2014, Green Party nominee Matt Funiciello polled 11.02% for U.S. House, New York district 21. This is the highest percentage of the vote any Green Party nominee for U.S. House has ever received, in a regularly-scheduled race with both a Republican and a Democrat. Until 2014, the best regularly-scheduled U.S. House showing for a Green Party nominee in races with both major parties also in the race had been in Alaska in 1994, when Jonni Whitmore polled 10.23%. However, in a special election in New Mexico in 1997, Carole Miller had polled 16.78%, and in another special New Mexico election in the spring of 1998, Robert Anderson had polled 14.72%.
Twice, Green Party nominees for U.S. Senate have polled over 10% in races with a Democrat and Republican also in the race. Those instances were in Hawaii in 1992, when Linda Martin polled 13.73%, and in Alaska in 1996, when Ted Whittaker polled 12.58%.
The Green gubernatorial nominees who have polled as much as 10% are Roberto Mondragon in New Mexico in 1994, who got 10.26%, and Richard Whitney in Illinois in 2006, who got 10.36%.
Here is a story about the Funiciello campaign. The 21st district is in northern New York state, and includes Plattsburgh and Watertown.
In the November 2014 election, three Libertarians running for U.S. House, in races with both major parties, polled between 7% and 8%. They were Kevin Craig in Missouri’s 7th district (7.68%), Jim McDermott in Alaska’s at-large seat (7.65%), and Scott Wise in Indiana’s 3rd district (7.48%). The Constitution Party’s best showing for U.S. House was Janine Hansen’s 6.33% in Nevada’s Second District. Two independents, in races with both major parties for U.S. House, polled over 10%. They were Nick Troiano in Pennsylvania’s 10th district with 12.61%, and Blaine Richardson in Maine’s 2nd district with 11.06%.
As already noted, Level the Playing Field is the organization that has asked the Federal Election Commission to revise its rules for presidential general election debates. According to the law firm that is representing Level the Playing Field, LPF “is the successor to Americans Elect.” Also see here.
The law firm, Shapiro, Arato and Isserles, is a New York city law firm that was founded in part by two former U.S. Supreme Court Clerks. Level the Playing Field’s petition has already received the support of several prestigious organizations, including the Campaign Legal Center.
Here is the request filed by Level the Playing Field, back on September 11, 2014.
The Federal Election Commission web page is expected to show all comments about the Presidential Debates rulemaking petition by December 27. Comments closed on December 15. The rulemaking petition asks the FEC to alter its rules on general election presidential debates. It will be interesting to see the comments of the Commission on Presidential Debates, assuming the CPD took the trouble to submit comments.
Here is Fairvote’s comment. Here is the submission of Our America Initiative, the organization founded by former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson.
On December 18, the ACLU filed a lawsuit under Section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act, against the School District in Ferguson, Missouri, to end at-large elections. The School Board has seven members elected at-large. Currently, only one of them is African-American, even though almost half the voters in the district are African-American. The case is Missouri NAACP v Ferguson-Florissant School District, e.d., 4:14cv-2077. Here is a copy of the Complaint.
