Matt Taylor filed to run for the non-partisan post of member of the Yolo County (California) Board of Education. He then learned that his opponent, the incumbent, was raising a great deal of money, so he assumed he couldn’t win and tried to withdraw. But California doesn’t permit candidates to withdraw. Taylor then ceased all campaign activity, but he won anyway. See this story. Thanks to Doug McNeil for the link.
On November 7, New Hampshire state attorneys filed this six-page brief in Libertarian Party of New Hampshire v Gardner, 1:14cv-322. The issue is New Hampshire’s new law making it illegal for a group to circulate the petition to become a qualified party in an odd year. The state argues that the case should be dismissed without collecting and evaluating evidence in the case.
Roll Call here lists nine U.S. House races in which the winner is not yet definitely settled. Roll Call also lists the Alaska U.S. Senate race as not finally determined. Thanks to PoliticalWire for the link.
According to this story, an Oklahoma election law that won’t even be in effect starting January 1, 2015, may force Oklahoma to hold a special U.S. House election early in 2015. The Democratic Party nominee died shortly before the general election, and according to the law in effect in 2014, it appears that therefore a special election must be held, even though the Republican Party nominee polled 70% of the vote.
The Star Tribune, Minnesota’s largest newspaper, has this editorial about the recent election. The bottom third of the article praises ranked-choice voting, used in Minneapolis, and contrasts it to the dismal results of the normal U.S. election system. Thanks to Bob Richard for the link.
