On November 29, the Illinois Senate passed the same bill that the House had passed the day before. It permits the state to hold the special U.S. House election to fill the vacant U.S. House 2nd district seat in April instead of March.
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Pennsylvania State Senator Mike Folmer (R-Lebanon) said in his recent e-mail newsletter to constituents that he will be re-introducing his ballot access reform bill. Thanks to Tom McLaughlin for this news.
The National Public Radio Station in Fresno, California, here explores the effect of California’s Proposition 14 (the top-two open primary) on California’s minor parties. Thanks to Mike Feinstein for the link.
California still hasn’t counted all its ballots from November 6, 2012. So far, there are 426,876 more votes cast for President than for U.S. Senate. For President, voters had a choice of six presidential candidates listed on the ballot, plus write-in space. But for U.S. Senate, they could only vote for a Democrat and a Republican, with no write-in space.
Of course, it is normal for some voters to vote for President and then no other offices in California and all other states. Nevertheless, it is reasonable to believe that many more votes would have been cast for U.S. Senate in California this year if voters had had more choices.
Washington, D.C. city council president Phil Mendelson has introduced a bill to legalize petitioners who don’t live in the District of Columbia. See this story. As the story notes, the bill is prompted by the pending Libertarian Party lawsuit against the District’s ban. The case has not been adjudicated yet, and if the bill passes, the lawsuit will be moot. The Center for Competitive Democracy and attorney Oliver Hall had filed the case. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.