The Alabama ballot access reform bill that had already been introduced into the Senate as SB 70 is also now introduced in the House. It is HB 327, by Representative John Merrill (R-Tuscaloosa). Merrill is only in his first term in the legislature, but he is running in the Republican primary for Secretary of State, and he is considered the frontrunner. Thanks to Joshua Cassity for this news.
Here is a link to the Virginia State Board of Elections web page, showing the results for State Senate, in the 33rd district. As of 9:55 p.m., they show: Democrat Jennifer Wexton 52.71%, Republican John Whitbeck 37.50%, independent Joe T. May 9.78%. May, although running as an independent, is an outgoing Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates.
On January 21, Quinnipiac Polls released a poll for the presidential election of 2016, assuming that Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee and Chris Christie is the Republican nominee. Respondents were merely asked whether they would vote for one or the other, without acknowledging that the respondent might wish to vote for someone else. The results: 46% Clinton, 38% Christie, 3% volunteered that they would vote for someone else; 5% said they wouldn’t vote; 9% said they didn’t know. Here are the results; scroll down to question seven. Thanks to PoliticalWire for the link.
This January 4, 2014 Pittsburgh Post Gazette story says that Ralph Nader recently withdrew all of his funds out of PNC Bank, amounting to almost $1,100,000. Nader did this because the PNC Bank seized approximately $38,000 of Nader’s funds and gave them to the individuals who challenged his 2004 Pennsylvania ballot access petition. The bank seized the money before Nader’s court challenge to the outcome had even been completed. The money Nader withdrew recently is not his personal property, but the property of various non-profit organizations directed by Nader.
The story says that Nader recently learned that the same law firm that represented the challengers to his petition, is also the law firm for PNC Bank. The bank is headquartered in Pittsburgh, and is the sixth largest bank in the United States. It has branches in 19 states and the District of Columbia. “PNC” stands for “Pittsburgh National Corporation.” Thanks to Eric Davin for the link.
The Center for Public Integrity has this interesting article on how the U.S. Supreme Court decision from four years go, Citizens United v FEC, will help Hillary Clinton if she runs for President in 2016. More generally, the article describes how Democrats in general may benefit from the decision. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.
