On January 13, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Republican Party of Nevada v Miller, 13-442. This is the case in which some Republican nominees for presidential elector in 2012, and the state party, and some voters who want to vote for “None of these candidates” were told that they lack standing. They wanted to challenge the Nevada rules that say that even if “none of these candidates” wins, that has no effect. The plaintiffs argued that, therefore, voters who vote for “none of these candidates” are not being treated equally with other voters.

This Detroit Free Press article says that Michigan’s Republican Governor, Rick Snyder, and key Republican legislative leaders, refused to disavoy the idea that the Republican-majority legislature might pass a bill, letting each U.S. House district choose its own presidential elector. Thanks to Thomas Jones for the link.

The article should have mentioned that Michigan has a referendum process, and if such a bill passed, the Democratic Party of Michigan and its allies are capable to qualifying a referendum vote on the bill.

As noted on January 10, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that challenges Ohio’s law that makes it illegal to make a false statement in an election campaign. According to this Columbus Dispatch story, in the recent past, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has said in legal briefs that the Ohio law has constitutional problems. Yet, now it is his duty to defend the law. It is conceivable that the 2014 legislature might repeal or amend the law before the case is heard, however. Probably the U.S. Supreme Court hearing will be in April 2014.