The Parthenon, student newspaper for Marshall University, has this editorial, suggesting that a new major party is overdue in the United States. Marshall University, in Huntington, West Virginia, was founded in 1837.
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Marianne Williamson, well-known California author, has announced that she will be an independent candidate for the 33rd U.S. House district in western Los Angeles County. See this story. Because California doesn’t permit independent candidates to use that label on the ballot, unless they are running for President, her ballot label will be “Party preference: none”.
Jim Jenkins, of Callaway, Nebraska, has announced that he will be an independent candidate for U.S. Senate in 2014. See this story. He had planned to run as an independent in 2012, but a state law barred him because he had been registered as a Democrat in the recent past. There is no incumbent in the 2014 Senate race. So far no Democrat has announced. Nebraska has not had an independent candidate on the ballot for U.S. Senate since 2002.
On October 23, Quinnipiac University Polls released a new gubernatorial poll for Virginia. The results: McAuliffe 46%, Cuccinelli 39%, Sarvis 10%, write-in someone else 1%, undecided 4%.
The poll is interesting because it breaks down the results by age, race, party affiliation, sex, and income. 78% of the voters say they don’t know enough about Sarvis to have an opinion about him. The final debate, which excludes him, is October 24, although there is a 3-candidate forum on October 28. Thanks to Political Wire for the link.
Texas is holding a statewide election on November 5 for various ballot measures, and early voting is in process. According to this story, Sandra Watts, an elected local judge, was forced to cast a provisional ballot when she tried to vote. The name on her voter registration record is her first name, the middle name she was given at birth, and her surname, which is also her husband’s surname. But her Texas drivers license shows her maiden name as her middle name. When she married in 1964, Texas law required women to list their maiden name as their middle name.
She has had the same name on her voter registration record for almost half a century, and she has not moved in over twenty years, but because the name on her drivers license is not a perfect match with her name on the voter registration records, the Texas photo-ID law prevented her from casting a normal ballot. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.