Vote Totals for Connecticut February 24 Special State Senate Election

Posted on by February 25, 2015
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The unofficial, incomplete vote totals for Connecticut’s special election for State Senate, 23rd district, are: Edwin Gomes, Working Families 1,485; Richard DeJesus, Democrat, 791; Rev. Kenneth Moales, independent, 509; Quentin Dreher, Republican, 152; Charles Hane, independent, 105.

Because the Working Families Party got over 20% of the vote in this election, it gets additional public funding for this election retroactively, as well as in 2016 for this particular district. Gomes assumed he was going to get over 20% and that he would get more public funding, so he will use the post-election money to pay campaign expenses.

Utah Senate Defeats Bill to Restore Old Caucus System

Posted on by February 25, 2015
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On February 24, the Utah Senate voted against SB 43 by a vote of 19-9. Utah has been the only state in which it is impossible for anyone to get on a primary ballot unless he or she does well at a party caucus prior to the primary. In 2014 the legislature passed a law saying anyone can petition on to a primary ballot, regardless of what the caucus thought of that person.

SB 43 would have suspended the law passed in 2014. See this story, which says that the bill lost because it seemed unfair to undo the 2014 legislation, even temporarily. The reason it seemed unfair is that the 2014 bill passed in the face of a proposed initiative to make the same change. The initiative proponents withdrew their petition because the 2014 legislature made the change.

West Virginia Legislature Passes Bill Making Judicial Elections Non-Partisan

Posted on by February 25, 2015
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On February 23, the West Virginia legislature passed HB 2010, which makes elections for state judges non-partisan. It will become law if the Governor signs it.

Making judicial elections non-partisan will simplify the general election ballot. Under current law, if a qualified party doesn’t nominate anyone for a judicial post, there still must be an entry on the ballot naming that party and saying it didn’t nominate anyone. The November 2014 ballot showed such entries for both the Mountain Party and the Libertarian Party, for example. West Virginia minor parties never nominate for judicial office anyway.

In 2010, the general election ballot had one State Supreme Court race, with a Democrat running against a Republican. The same was true for 2012. There were no statewide judicial races in 2014. Thanks to Jeff Becker for this news.

Another Texas Bill Concerning Straight-Ticket Devices

Posted on by February 25, 2015
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Texas Representative Kenneth Sheets (R-Texas) has introduced HB 25. It retains the straight-ticket device in general, but removes partisan judicial races from the scope of the device. The other Texas bills concerning straight-ticket devices are: (1) HB 1288, which completely eliminates it; (2) HB 1444, which removes it for judicial offices in counties with over 1,000,000 population. Thanks to Jim Riley for this news.