On June 12, Jonathan Pelto, a former Democratic state legislator in Connecticut, formally announced he will seek the governorship this year under the label of his Education & Democracy Party. He will also try to obtain the Working Families Party nomination. See this story.
This Christian Science Monitor article discusses the June 3 primary in Virginia’s 7th U.S. House District, in which incumbent Eric Cantor was defeated for re-nomination. It considers the claims that two particular Democratic activists influenced partisan Democratic voters to vote in the open Republican primary against Cantor, not because they favored his Republican opponent, but to injure the Republican Party. However, the article seems to suggest that these claims are overblown.
On June 12, Rhode Island HB 8072 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill has already passed the House. It repeals the straight-ticket device. Thanks to Ken Block for this news. The bill takes effect January 1, 2015.
According to this article, the New York city council is studying a bill that would use Instant-Runoff Voting for partisan primaries for citywide office. If the bill passes, voters would then vote on whether to approve the idea.
The News and Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina, has this op-ed, criticizing the North Carolina legislature for refusing to address ballot access. Even though the House passed a bill last year to study ballot access, the Senate has not advanced the bill. The op-ed is by Wayne Turner, of the North Carolina Green Party.
