Bob Guzzardi, the only person who petitioned for a place on the Pennsylvania Republican primary ballot against the incumbent Republican Governor (Tom Corbett) has so far survived a challenge to his petition. See this story. However, the individuals who tried to get him removed from the ballot will appeal to the State Supreme Court. The primary is May 20.
The Iowa Constitution says that persons convicted of “infamous crimes” may not register to vote. On April 15, the Iowa Supreme Court issued an opinion in Chiodo v The Section 43.24 Panel, 14-0553. The issue was whether an individual who had been convicted of an aggrevated misdemeanor should lose the right to register. Specifically, the voter in question (who is also a candidate for the state legislature this year) had been convicted twice in his life of drunk driving.
The plurality opinion, signed by 3 justices, says that “infamous crime” means something more serious than a felony. A concurrence signed by two justices says “infamous crime” and “felony” mean the same thing. The concurrence argues that the plurality opinion is so vague, that there will be an explosion of new litigation over whether other persons convicted of felonies may now register to vote.
One justice would have ruled that “infamous crime” means any crime for which the punishment includes incarceration in prison (as opposed to jail). One justice did not participate. Here is a link to the opinion.
On April 15, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed S3149, the National Popular Vote Plan bill for presidential elections. New York is the first new state to have passed the plan this year.
The Los Angeles Times of April 15 has a story, “Top-two primary might be bad for small-party candidates.” It has a picture of Cindy Sheehan, a member of the Peace & Freedom Party who is running for Governor of California this year. The link may work for readers, or it might result in the reader being told to become a subscriber in order to gain access to the article. Try this link. The story does not mention any information about how top-two has worked in Washington state.
The story is noteworthy because it quotes an advisor to former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as saying, “Obviously, the need for third parties, smaller parties, to remain active participants is important; and as we implement this system, the need to make appropriate adjustments will become apparent as the system unfolds.” This is the very time when Governor Schwarzenegger or anyone associated with him has even acknowledged the existence of minor parties.
The Sunday New York Times, for April 6, has this essay by history professor Molly Worthen. It is about how the Progressive Party of Vermont was instrumental in causing Vermont to pass a single-payer health system, and it makes the general point that new and minor parties not only introduce new ideas, but they sometimes have enough clout to get those ideas passed into law. The article says a similar example was how the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation Party of Saskatchewan had a similar effect in 1946, which eventually influenced not only policy in that province, but in the entire nation. Thanks to Roy Christman for the link.
