On May 23, U.S. District Court Judge Matthew F. Leitman, an Obama appointee, issued a 22-page order, putting Congressman John Conyers on the August 5 primary ballot. The decision rests almost entirely on Nader v Blackwell, a 2008 decision of the Sixth Circuit that struck down Ohio’s requirement that circulators for candidates must be registered voters. Michigan is also in the Sixth Circuit.

Michigan election officials had already determined that Conyers did have enough valid signatures, if it weren’t for the law barring circulators who aren’t registered voters. The opinion is somewhat critical of the state for initially saying it would not determine how many valid signatures Conyers had until early June. The decision says the court had to pressure the state to make its decision on that by today. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.

On May 22, Great Britain voted for local government posts in many places, and also for representatives to the European Parliament. This article says that partial election returns for local races show that the UKIP (United Kingdom Independence Party) made substantial gains, and that the Green Party also gained. Results of the European Parliament voting won’t be known until Sunday. Those returns will be even more interesting, since proportional representation is being used for the European Parliament elections. Thanks to J. David Gillespie for the link. UDATE: this story has more detailed election outcomes.

The May 23 Sacramento Bee has this op-ed by Steve Maviglio, detailing how the California top-two system makes it easier for forces hostile to one major party to manipulate which member of that party qualifies for the November ballot.

The piece contains a typographical error, when it discusses the State Senate election in 2012 in Los Angeles County. Republican candidate Charlotte Svolos got 27% of the vote in the June primary, not 57%. Thanks to Mike Feinstein for the link.