Some California Political Analysts Believe Order of Candidates on Ballot Determined Winner in One Legislative Race

Posted on by November 24, 2014
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See this newspaper story about the California legislative race in the 39th Assembly district in the San Fernando Valley portion of Los Angeles County. The incumbent Democratic Assemblyman, Raul Bocanegra, who enjoyed a 39 point lead in the June primary over his opponent Patty Lopez, lost to her in November.

California rotates names of candidates within each Assembly district. For a statewide race, that gives every candidate the top spot on the ballot in some parts of the state, and all candidates are treated equally. But for a solitary Assembly race, one candidate will enjoy the top spot throughout the district. The article explains why it appears that Bocanegra would not have lost if he had been in the top spot on the ballot. Thanks to AroundtheCapitol for the link.

UPDATE: see this story, which has evidence of ballot order affecting other same-party California races as well. Thanks to Rick Hasen for that link.

Montana Republican Party Lawsuit for a Closed Primary Moves Ahead

Posted on by November 24, 2014
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As previously noted, on September 8, 2014, the Republican Party of Ravalli County, Montana, filed a federal lawsuit to obtain a closed primary for the Republican Party. A pre-trial conference in that case has been set for December 11. However, on January 10 the state Republican central committee will meet and vote on whether the state party should join the lawsuit. It’s somewhat likely the pre-trial conference will be postponed, to wait for the state party’s decision. The case is Ravalli County Republican Central Committee v McCulloch, 6:14cv-58. The case is assigned to Judge Brian Morris, an Obama appointee and a former member of the Montana Supreme Court.

Outgoing 113th Congress Spent Little Time on Election Law Bills

Posted on by November 23, 2014
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As the 113th Congress elected in 2012 fades into history, one observes that little attention was paid to election law bills.

HR 20, the bill for public funding for candidates for the U.S. House, gathered 160 co-sponsors, but they included only one Republican. Despite this impressive number of co-sponsors, the bill got almost no publicity and never had a hearing.

HR 5334, the bill to establish top-two elections for Congress throughout the United States, got virtually no publicity and no hearing. It was sponsored by John Delaney (D-Maryland) and had only two co-sponsors, Jared Polis (D-Colorado) and Derek Kilmer (D-Washington).