On October 8, the U.S. Supreme Court set aside last week’s Fourth Circuit order in the case over whether the state must restore election-day registration. Here is the order. Two justices dissented. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.
The big suspense now in connection with the U.S. Supreme Court is what it will do about Wisconsin’s government-photo I.D. law.
On October 9, Quinnipiac University released a poll for the Connecticut gubernatorial race. The results: Democratic incumbent Dannel Malloy 43%; Republican 43%; independent Joe Visconti 9%; undecided 5%. See this story.
U.S. District Court Judge Myron Thompson will hear oral arguments in Hall v Bennett, middle district, 2:13cv-663, on November 13 at 10 a.m. This is the case over whether the state must cut the number of signatures, or extend the deadline, in special congressional elections, because the petitioning time is so much shorter than in regular elections. The plaintiff in this particular case is an independent candidate, but the case applies equally to minor party petitions.
This case was filed in 2013. It had already had an oral argument earlier this year, but then the case was transferred to a different judge.
On October 7, the Charles County, Maryland, Republican Central Committee resolved to ask the state party to let independent voters vote in Republican primaries in 2016. See this story.
The story quotes Todd Eberly, a political science professor, as saying that to his knowledge, Maryland has never had a major primary in which independent voters could vote. However, in 2000, the Maryland Republican Party let independents vote in its primary.
On October 8, Survey USA released a poll for the U.S. Senate race in South Dakota. The results: Republican Mike Rounds 35%; independent Larry Pressler 32%; Democrat Rick Weiland 28%; independent Gordon Howie 3%; undecided 2%. See here for more detail. This is the first poll to have shown Pressler in second place. Thanks to Political Wire for the link.
