Pennsylvania Wants to Consolidate Both Minor Party Ballot Access Constitutional Cases

Posted on by August 23, 2014
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On August 22, attorneys for Pennsylvania asked two different U.S. District Courts to consolidate the two pending minor party constitutional ballot access cases, Green Party of Pennsylvania v Aichele, and Constitution Party of Pennsylvania v Aichele. Both are pending in the eastern district in Philadelphia.

The Constitution Party case challenges the court costs that are imposed when a petition is submitted that doesn’t have enough valid signatures. The Green Party case challenges the ban on out-of-state circulators, the restriction on signers living in different counties signing the same sheet, the restriction that only registered voters (as opposed to people eligible to register) may sign, and notarization of each sheet.

The two cases have different judges. It is not clear which judge would take over the two cases if they were consolidated.

California Governor Signs Bill Reducing Number of Signatures in Lieu of Filing Fee in Special Elections

Posted on by August 23, 2014
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On August 22, California Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 2233. It eases the number of signatures in lieu of filing fee, in special elections. The rationale is that in special elections, the petitioning period is shorter than in regular elections. In some special elections in the past, the petitioning period has been as short as two days.

California has had procedures for petitions in lieu of the filing fee since 1974. For statewide office, they are 10,000 signatures; for U.S. House and State Senate, 3,000 signatures; for Assembly, 1,500 signatures. Partial completion of the in lieu petition means that the filing fee is proportionately reduced. The filing fees for statewide office are 2% of the annual salary of the office being sought; for district office, 1%.

Political Science Study Identifies States with Lowest Level of Corruption Convictions of Government Employees

Posted on by August 23, 2014
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Reid Wilson of the Washington Post has this article about a study by political scientists John Mikesell and Cheol Liu of corruption convictions of state employees. The study covers 1976 through 2008 and finds that Oregon has the lowest rate of convictions of state employees. Thanks to Dan Tokaji for the link.

Massachusetts Newspapers Sponsor Gubernatorial Debate Between Two Non-Major Party Candidates

Posted on by August 22, 2014
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On August 21, several Massachusetts newspapers hosted a debate between two candidates for Governor of Massachusetts, neither of whom is a major party nominee. The debate was between Evan Falchuk, nominee of the United Independent Party, and Jeffrey McCormick, an independent candidate. See this detailed description of the event.

Washington State Primary Turnout This Year Was Lowest Since 1990

Posted on by August 22, 2014
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Washington state held its fourth top-two primary on August 5. According to the Secretary of State’s web page, 2014 primary turnout was 31.15% of registered voters. This is the lowest Washington primary turnout since 1990.

Turnout in previous primaries has been: 2012 38.48%, 2010 40.97%, 2008 42.60%, 2006 38.80%, 2004 45.14%, 2002 34.21%, 2000 40.80%, 1998 35.29%, 1996 42.00%, 1994 34.54%, 1992 45.80%. These percentages are all from the Secretary of State’s web page. Old election returns earlier than 1992 are on the Secretary of State’s web page, but there is no turnout data. However, in 1990, the total number of votes cast for U.S. House in the primary was only 623,910, and there were 2,229,322 registered voters in Washington state in October 1990. The number of registered voters at the primary is not known, and the number of primary voters is not known, but the best estimate is that 1990 primary turnout was approximately 30%.

Washington used a blanket primary before 2004, and an open primary in 2004 and 2006.