Washington State Court Determines that Republicans Did Have a Nominee in 2010, so it Retained its Qualified Status

Posted on by August 23, 2012
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On August 23, a Washington state court in Olympia heard Libertarian Party of Washington v Reed, in which the Libertarian Party argued that the Republican Party is no longer ballot-qualified. According to this news story, the Judge determined that the Republican Party did have a nominee for U.S. Senate in 2010. Apparently, months after the Republican State Convention was over, state party officers took steps that the judge construed to be a party nomination. This was apparently a small meeting. UPDATE: here is a more detailed story; note especially the second-to-last paragraph. FURTHER UPDATE: here is the 2-page opinion, but it is devoid of much interest because it doesn’t give reasons for the legal conclusion. The judge’s oral remarks were far more interesting.

California Bill, Banning Paying Registration Drive Workers on a Per-Registration Card Basis, Isn’t Dead After All

Posted on by August 23, 2012
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California AB 145, which bans paying registration drive workers on a per-card basis, is not dead for this year’s session after all. The office of Assemblyman Richard Pan had said on August 20 that his bill is dead. But, it turns out that is not true. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee. Although the general rule is that bills had to be out of Committee by August 17 in order to be alive, that rule doesn’t apply to the Rules Committee.

Senate President Darrell Steinberg is chair of the Senate Rules Committee, and he supports the bill. The bill would make it far more difficult for minor parties to qualify, or remain qualified, for the California ballot, because only having registration of 1% of the last gubernatorial vote will keep a party on the ballot. Anyone who has concerns about this bill should phone Senator Steinberg’s office at 916-651-4006, or e-mail him at darrell.steinberg@sen.ca.gov. UPDATE: the bill has passed Rules Committee and is on the Senate floor. It may pass as early as Monday, August 27.

The bill has been amended so that there is no longer any penalty for anyone who does pay on a per-registration card basis. The penalty was removed from the bill to avoid the need to send it through the Public Safety Committee. A similar bill, AB 2058, already died in that committee earlier this year.

Arizona Press Covers Details of Signature-Verification Process for Top-Two Open Primary

Posted on by August 23, 2012
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Many newspapers in Arizona story have carried this article, concerning why Arizona election officials determined the top-two open primary initiative doesn’t have enough valid signatures. The reporter interviewed the head of the Maricopa County elections office. Her office counted signatures of registered voters, whether the address on the petition matched the address on the voter registration records or not.