Dartmouth Professor Charles Wheelan will speak in Washington, D.C., about why the U.S. needs a new centrist political party. See this Roll Call news item. The talk is free, and attendees may receive a free copy of Wheelan’s book “The Centrist Manifesto” as long as supplies hold out. The event is at 6 p.m., Hill Center, Old Naval Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, on Monday, April 7.
The Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee will hear SB 2091 on April 8 at 4:30 p.m. This is the bill to eliminate the straight-ticket device. Thanks to Ken Block for this news.
HR 20, the bill to provide public funding for campaigns for the U.S. House, had 140 co-sponsors soon after it was introduced in February 2014. But since February, it has only gained one co-sponsor. One might have expected more co-sponsors recently, especially given the U.S. Supreme Court decision in McCutcheon v FEC on April 2.
The Ninth Circuit will hear Raymond v Fenumiai, 13-35090, on June 2. This is the case over Alaska’s ban on out-of-state circulators for initiative petitions. The U.S. District Court had ruled that the petitioner-plaintiff, who lives in Wisconsin, doesn’t have standing. The U.S. District Court said that the petitioner should have indicated a particular initiative he wants to work on in Alaska, instead of just complaining in general that he is not permitted to work on Alaska initiatives.
If the Ninth Circuit reverses the U.S. District Court on standing, it would then probably send the case back to the U.S. District Court for a decision on the main issue. The Ninth Circuit has already struck down bans on out-of-state circulators, in Nader v Brewer in 2008, so there is little doubt that the ban will fall if the standing problem can be overcome.
California Assemblyman Tim Donnelly (R-Twin Peaks) has introduced AB 2233. For special elections, the bill lowers the number of signatures in lieu of filing fee. Currently 3,000 signatures in lieu of filing fee are required for U.S. House and State Senate, and 1,500 for Assembly. In regular elections, the signatures can be gathered over a period of 120 days. But in special elections, the period is shorter. The bill says that the number of signatures should be reduced in proportion to the length of the special election time period. Thanks to C.T. Weber for this news.
