On November 7, the Tenth Circuit ruled 3-0 that Kansas and Arizona cannot require the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to modify the federal voter registration forms that are used in those two states. Kobach v U.S. Election Assistance Commission, 14-3062. Here is the 29-page opinion. The most interesting parts start on page 18.

The federal voter registration form asks registrants to sign under penalty of perjury that they are citizens. Kansas and Arizona don’t believe that is sufficient, and they want the federal forms used in their states modified to tell applicants that they must attach proof of citizenship. The U.S. District Court in Kansas had ruled that if the states want that change made, the Election Assistance Commission must comply.

Article One of the U.S. Constitution gives congress the right to write election laws for congressional elections. States may set voter qualifications, but congress has the right to modify how congressional elections are run. Page 20 finds that the content of the form is related to how elections are run, not on which individuals are qualified to vote.

The decision says the Election Assistance Commission already held extensive evidence-gathering on whether the forms need to be modified, and that the Commission made no clear error when it sifted through the evidence and concluded the alternation is not needed. The decision is by Judge Carlos Lucero, a Clinton appointee, and co-signed by Judge Jerome Holmes, a Bush Jr. appointee, and Judge Gregory Phillips, an Obama appointee. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.

Connecticut, like New York, uses party column ballots, and determines the order of parties on the ballot by their gubernatorial vote. At the November 4, 2014 election, the vote for Governor of Connecticut was: Democratic 528,669 (48.64%); Republican 500,329 (46.03%); Working Families 23,684 (2.18%); Independent Party 22,878 (2.10%); independent candidate Joe Visconti 11,337 (1.04%).

The Working Families Party has enjoyed the third line on Connecticut ballots for the last four years, but the Independent Party this week almost displaced it to the fourth line.

The Republican Party has had the top line for the past four years, but as a result of this week’s election, it slips to the second line.

In the 2010 election, the Working Families Party got 2.30%. Both in 2010 and 2014, it cross-endorsed the Democratic nominee, Dannel Malloy. In 2010 the Independent Party had run its own nominee, Thomas E. Marsh, who had received 1.54%. In 2014 the Independent Party cross-endorsed the Republican nominee.

Matthew Reece has published this useful article, “An Overview of 2014 Libertarian Gubernatorial Candidate Results.” Although the article was published the day after the election, so that the vote totals are already somewhat out-of-date, the article is very useful because it contains the poll results for almost all of the Libertarian gubernatorial candidates. Thus, it is possible for the reader to compare the poll results with the actual election returns.

There is a consistent pattern that the actual election returns, in all cases, are below what the polls had predicted.

Reece appears to have erroneously omitted a paragraph for Wyoming.