The Salt Lake Tribune has this story on former U.S. Senator Jake Garn’s support for the National Popular Vote Plan. Garn was a Republican U.S. Senator from Utah 1974-1992, and is well-respected in his home state of Utah.
Reply
The West Virginia legislature adjourned its regular session on April 17. Before it adjourned, it passed HB 2805, which extends public funding for candidates for State Supreme Court through the 2016 election. The program had been used for the first time in 2012 as a pilot project. The bill also eliminates the part of the program that provides extra public funding for candidates who have well-funded privately-funded opponents, because that part of the program had been held unconstitutional.
Bills to convert judicial elections into non-partisan elections, to ease the vote test for a party to remain on the ballot, and to curtail the straight-ticket device, all failed to pass.
The New York Times has this editorial, in support of public funding, in particular for state office campaigns in New York state. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.
On April 18, Brian Berger, a New Hanover County, North Carolina County Commissioner, switched his voter registration from “Republican” to “Libertarian.” County Commission is a partisan elected office. See this story.
It is believed that Berger intends to resign soon from the Commission. The law says a vacancy should be filled by the party that the ex-member was a member of. The law is vague as to whether this means that the Republican Party, or the Libertarian Party, has the opportunity to suggest a new appointee. The article quotes the head of the county election board as saying that he believes the Republican Party should make the decision, but there is no clarity in the law about that.
The Clemson University student weekly newspaper, The Tiger News, has this column by Joshua Rooks, advocating that a new major political party arise in the United States. The Tiger News, founded in 1907, is the oldest student-run newspaper in South Carolina.