This good Connecticut news story answers the question about how the overseas absentee ballot and its accompanying list of candidates is arranged. The story says the candidates are listed in alphabetical order, which solves the problem of which parties to list first.
On September 26, Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies released a poll of the U.S. Senate race in Maryland. The results: incumbent Democrat Benjamin Cardin 50%, Republican nominee Dan Bongino 22%, independent Rob Sobhani 21%, undecided or other 7%. There are four candidates on the ballot; the one not mentioned by the pollsters is Libertarian nominee Dean Ahmad. Thanks to Doug McNeil for the link.
This poll for the Iowa U.S. House race, 3rd district, shows the two incumbents tied with each other, and one of the other candidates in the race with a large vote. There are two incumbents running against each other because Iowa lost a U.S. House seat after the 2010 census. The results: Republican incumbent Tom Latham 45%, Democratic incumbent Leonard Boswell 45%, independent Scott Batcher 7%, other or undecided 3%.
Batcher is a healthcare consultant. Here is his web page, which appears to have been created in 2010 when he ran in the Republican primary in the Third District. That 2010 Republican primary had seven candidates, and Batcher placed 7th.
The ballot lists four candidates, but the poll did not mention the fourth candidate, Socialist Workers Party nominee David Rosenfeld. The 3rd district includes Des Moines and the southwest quadrant of Iowa. In 2010, the Socialist Workers Party nominee for the 3rd district seat polled 2.60%. Thanks to Mike for the link.
Connecticut, in conformity with federal law, has already mailed its overseas absentee ballots. Because the State Supreme Court still hasn’t ruled on which party should be listed first on the ballot, the Connecticut overseas absentee ballots this year are all blank. Accompanying the ballots are lists of offices being voted for, and the list of candidates for each office. Each voter will vote by writing in his or her choices on the blank ballot.
