According to this story, a poll worker in Williamson County, Texas, interpreted Texas law against electioneering at the polls to mean that a voter was not permitted in the polling place unless she covered up her shirt, which said, “Vote the Bible.” This incident is reminiscent of an incident in 2010 when a voter in Arizona was told she couldn’t wear a shirt that mentioned the Tea Party. She sued in federal court and won. There was no “Tea Party” on the ballot in Arizona in 2010.
The October 24 issue Honolulu Weekly has this story about the race for the State House, 20th district, in Oahu. The Green nominee, Keiko Bonk, is running against the long-time speaker of the House, Calvin Say. This more recent story, from the blog i lind says the Hotel Workers Union is giving substantial help to Bonk. Here is a third story about the race. Thanks to Mike for the links.
On November 1, CNN/ORC released a poll for the Colorado presidential race that includes five candidates. The results for likely voters are: Obama 48%, Romney 47%, Johnson 4%, Stein 1%, Goode under 1%. For registered voters, the results are: Obama 51%, Romney 41%, Johnson 5%, Stein 1%, Goode 1%, none-other-undecided 2%. Thanks to Mike for the link.
The Wyoming Public Broadcasting Stations will host the only Wyoming broadcast debates this year for both U.S. Senate and U.S. House. The station invited all ballot-listed candidates. See here. In the U.S. Senate race, three parties have nominees (Republican, Democratic, Country). In the U.S. House race, all five parties on the ballot have nominees (Republican, Democratic, Libertarian, Constitution, and Country).
Wyoming parties must poll at least 2% for U.S. House in order to remain ballot-qualified. In midterm years, several statewide offices count toward party retention, but in presidential years, only the U.S. House race counts. The Libertarian Party has met the vote test in all elections starting in 1994, but this is the first time since 2000 in which any other minor parties have been on the ballot in Wyoming. Thanks to IndependentPoliticalReport for the link.
The OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) has been observing elections in its 56 member nations starting in 2002. This article describes the OSCE reaction to recent news that Iowa will not allow international observers to be closer than 300 feet to any polling place. OSCE says it will not violate state laws, but reminds the U.S. that the U.S. already signed agreements that it would allow such observers.
The OSCE, twenty-two years ago, promulgated standards for free and fair elections, which the United States signed. The U.S. agreed “to respect the right of citizens to seek political or public office, individually or as representatives of political parties or organizations, without discrimination.” The U.S. already agreed to “respect the right of individuals and groups to establish, in full freedom, their own political parties or other political organizations and provide such political parties and organizations with the necessary legal guarantees to enable them to compete with each other on a basis of equal treatment before the law and by the authorities.” Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.
