Arizona Supreme Court Will Decide Whether to Hear Tucson Partisan City Elections Case on October 25

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The Arizona Supreme Court will decide on October 25 whether to hear the state’s appeal in State of Arizona v City of Tucson, cv11-0150. The issue is whether the Arizona Constitution protects the ability of cities to decide for themselves whether to hold partisan or non-partisan city elections. In 2009 the legislature passed a bill requiring all cities to use non-partisan elections. Tucson voters have consistently voted in favor of partisan city elections. Earlier this year, the city won a lawsuit in the State Court of Appeals against the new state law, but the State hopes the State Supreme Court will reverse that decision.

Tucson is the only city in Arizona with partisan elections.

Americans Elect Adds Details About Building Itself as an Organization

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As noted earlier, on September 9 Americans Elect sent an e-mail to many of its delegates, encouraging them to volunteer to help build the organization. On September 19, Americans Elect issued a press release, expanding on this idea. The organization hopes to find at least one volunteer in each State Senate district in the United States, which would be 2,051 individuals. These volunteers would try to enroll at least 500 more delegates.

The press release says the pool of delegates “will come from registered voters of all ideological backgrounds.”

The initiative is called “Project 500”. Americans Elect will provide volunteers with tools, suggestions and support to facilitate their outreach. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the news. The text of the press release does not seem to be on the Americans Elect web page.

Jonathan Bernstein Adds a New Argument to Debate over Electoral College

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Jonathan Bernstein has this commentary at National Public Radio’s blog, on the electoral college. He points out that, currently, the American constitutional system discriminates against residents of populous states, both in the U.S. Senate, and also in the electoral college. Five of the nation’s most populous states are either overwhelmingly Democratic, or overwhelmingly Republican. Therefore, the National Popular Vote Plan would return the system toward balance. Thanks to Kimberly Wilder for the link.

Berlin State Elections Boost Green Party, Pirate Party

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On September 18, Berlin, Germany, held state elections. See this story about the results. The Green Party boosted its share of the vote from 13% in the last state election, to 18%. As a result, the Green Party is expected to join the ruling state coalition.

The Pirate Party polled over 8% of the vote. The BBC describes it as “little-known”, and says its platform includes greater personal data protection and legalizing marijuana.

R. Spencer Oliver Praises Denmark’s Proportional Representation Election System

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Last week, Denmark held national elections. R. Spencer Oliver, an American statesman living in Denmark, has this commentary on Denmark’s election system. Oliver feels Denmark’s election system is better than the system used in the United States. He notes voter turnout in Denmark’s recent election was 87.7%, and he also notes that Denmark, because of proportional representation, has eight parties in its Parliament.

Oliver was chief counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs between 1985 and 1993. Since 1993 he has been Secretary General of the International Secretariat of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, more commonly known as the Helsinki Accords organization. In the Watergate scandal of 1972, he was one of the persons whose phone was tapped by Richard Nixon’s re-election campaign. At the time, Oliver was a Democratic Party official. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.

Ninth Circuit Upholds Solicitation on Public Sidewalks

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On September 16, the Ninth Circuit ruled 9-2 that cities may not criminalize the act of standing on a public sidewalk to solicit “employment, business, or contributions from an occupant of any motor vehicle.” The case is Comite de Jornaleros de Redondo Beach v City of Redondo Beach, 06-55750. Although this is not directly related to petitioning (because petitioners never expect anyone driving a car to pull over to the curb, get out of the car, and sign a petition), the decision illustrates the protection that the First Amendment gives to anyone who uses a public sidewalk for First Amendment activity. Here is the decision. The majority opinion is 23 pages; there is a concurrence and a lengthy dissent.

The decision struck down a city ordinance that had been enacted to stop day laborers from standing on certain busy streets and holding up signs, or otherwise indicating, that they were seeking employment. Thanks to How Appealing for this news.