Virginia State Senator Richard H. Black (R-Great Falls) has introduced SB 690, to lower the number of signatures for presidential candidates from 10,000 signatures to 5,000 signatures. The bill also reduces the number of signatures needed in each U.S. House district from 400 to 200. The bill would apply both to presidential primary candidates, and candidates of unqualified parties and independent presidential candidates petitioning for the November ballot.

Virginia Delegate Mark Cole (R-Fredericksburg) has introduced HB 1346, which lowers the number of signatures to 5,000 for presidential primary candidates, but not general election presidential candidates.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a speech on the evening of December 11 that more national standards for federal elections should be considered. See this story.

The Hill writes here that California Democratic Congressmen Brad Sherman and Howard Berman spent $11,700,000 in their campaigns against each other to represent the California 30th district. This is the most expensive California U.S. House race ever, when independent expenditures are excluded.

They were both incumbents, forced to run against each other by redistricting. The top-two system did not cause them to run against each other; redistricting did that. But without the top-two system, their race against each other would have been over in the June primary. The top-two system forced them to run against each other in June and in November as well, and thus the top-two system contributed to the record amount spent.