Turkey holds its first presidential election on August 10. In the past, the voters elected a Parliament and the Parliament chose the President. See this wikipedia article. There are three candidates on the ballot. If no one gets 50%, there will be a run-off on August 24. The system is very similar to the type of presidential election France uses. The first round is an election, and polls suggest one candidate will win outright on August 10.
On August 6, legislative leaders from the New Mexico Democratic Party said they favor a bill in 2015 telling political parties that nominate by primary that they must let independents vote in those primaries. On August 7, the Republican Governor, Susana Martinez, said she also favors this idea. See this story. Given the Governor’s support, assuming she is re-elected this year, it seems very likely such a bill will pass.
These various public officials seem unaware that each of their parties already has the power to let independents vote in their primaries. In 1986 the U.S. Supreme Court said in Tashjian v Republican Party of Connecticut that if a party wants to invite independents to vote in its primary, that is a decision for the party, not the government. Nevertheless, it is obviously more orderly to have an election law statute setting forth how a party makes this decision, and also setting forth deadlines to make such a decision.
On August 7, Montana Democratic Party nominee John Walsh, running for re-election to the U.S. Senate, dropped out of the race. The Democratic Party will choose a new nominee by August 20. Walsh had been renominated in the June 3, 2014 primary. See this story.
If Montana had California’s top-two system, and if Walsh had placed first or second in the June 2014 primary, he would not be allowed to withdraw and he would be one of only two names on the November ballot.
On August 7, the Florida legislature produced a new redistricting plan for U.S. House seats. The plan alters the boundaries of seven districts. See this story. Thanks to PoliticalWire for the link.
On August 7, an amicus curiae brief was filed in Rubin v Bowen, in the California State Court of Appeals. Rubin v Bowen is the case in which the Peace & Freedom Party, the Libertarian Party of California, and the Green Party of Alameda County argue that Proposition 14, the top-two primary law, violates the rights of voters in the general election who wish to vote for minor party candidates.
The amicus is filed by the California Green Party and can be read here.
