Colorado Bill for Approval Voting Dies in Committee

Posted on by March 22, 2014
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On March 12, the Colorado House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee defeated HB 1062 by 3-8. This is the bill to let local governments use Approval Voting for non-partisan elections. Approval Voting lets a voter vote for as many candidates as desired, even though only one is to be elected.

Three of the four Republicans on the Committee voted for the bill, but one Republican, and all seven Democrats, voted against it. This was somewhat surprising given that the House sponsor is a Democrat, and the ACLU, Common Cause, and the League of Women Voters testified in favor of the bill. The bill was also supported by Colorado’s three ballot-qualified minor parties. Thanks to Jeff Orrok and Frank Atwood for this news.

California Candidate Wins Court Decision that Faxed Candidacy Papers are Valid

Posted on by March 22, 2014
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On March 21, a California Superior Court in Sacramento ruled that election officials must accept John Mirisch’s declaration of candidacy, even though he faxed it on the deadline. Later, after the deadline had passed, he submitted the original paperwork. He is a Republican running for State Senate, district 26. His ballot status on the June primary ballot is still not assured, because his signatures haven’t been checked yet. The requirement is 40 signatures.

He faxed the Declaration because at the time he decided to run (on the deadline day) he was in Washington, D.C. The case is Mirisch v Bowen, 34-2014-80001790.

South Carolina Bill to Provide that State Pays for Presidential Primaries Advances

Posted on by March 21, 2014
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On March 20, the South Carolina House Judiciary Committee passed HB 4732. This is the bill that says the government will pay for the administration of presidential primaries. The only qualified parties that may have presidential primaries are those which polled at least 5% for President in the last election.

South Carolina is the only state in the nation in which no party, other than the Democratic and Republican Parties, has ever polled as much as 5% for President. South Carolina did not have elections for president before 1868; the legislature chose the presidential electors. When Strom Thurmond ran for President in 1948, although he carried South Carolina, he was the nominee of the Democratic Party of South Carolina, and President Truman was an independent candidate.

In 1956, presidential elector candidates pledged to U.S. Senator Harry Byrd were on the South Carolina ballot, and they polled 29.45%. But they were on the ballot as independent candidates, not as nominees of a party. The ballot label was “Nomination by Petition.”

In 1996, when Ross Perot was the Reform Party nominee, he polled over 5% for President in every state. But in South Carolina, which permits fusion, he was on the ballot twice, once as the Patriot Party nominee and once as the Reform Party nominee. He polled 3.21% as the Patriot nominee and 2.39% as the Reform nominee, so neither of his two parties themselves polled as much as 5% for President.

Jay Paterno Ballot Status to be Determined in Commonwealth Court on March 31

Posted on by March 21, 2014
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Jay Paterno, a leading Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor, will face a petition challenge on March 31 in Commonwealth Court. He needs 1,000 valid signatures to get on the May 20 primary ballot, and the law also requires 100 signatures from each of five counties. The county distribution requirement should have been declared unconstitutional long ago, because in 1969 the U.S. Supreme Court said they violate “one person, one vote”, because counties have different populations.

Paterno only submitted 1,117 signatures, so chances are high that even without considering the county distribution requirement, he likely does not have 1,000 valid signatures, although it is possible. See this story.