Quebec Election Results

Posted on by September 5, 2012
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Quebec held an election for its provincial legislature on September 4. Quebec, and all Canadian provinces, use the same election system the U.S. uses, “first past the post”. Whoever gets the most votes in each single-member district is elected.

The Parti Quebecois polled 31.93% of the popular vote, and won 54 seats.

The Liberal Party (the party that had been in power) polled 31.20% of the popular vote, and won 50 seats.

A new party, the Coalition Avenir Quebec, polled 27.05% of the popular vote, but only won 19 seats. It believes Quebec should forget about leaving Canada.

Quebec Solidaire, a party of the left, polled 6.03% of the popular vote and won two seats.

Two other parties polled at least 1% of the popular vote, but didn’t win any seats. They are Option Nationale, which is more in favor of Quebec becoming an independent nation than any of the other parties. It won 1.90% of the vote. Also, the Green Party (Parti Vert) won 1.00% of the popular vote. Thanks to Sam Harley and Thomas Jones for this news.

Wyoming Petition for Jill Stein Lacks Enough Valid Signatures

Posted on by September 5, 2012
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The only independent candidate who tried to get on the Wyoming ballot for President this year was Jill Stein. However, the Secretary of State has determined that she didn’t have enough valid signatures. Wyoming requires a petition of 2% of the last Congressional vote, which is tied for being the second-highest presidential petition requirement in the nation. Only Oklahoma has a higher percentage for President, when the easier of both methods (party and independent) for each state are compared.

An independent candidate for U.S. House also tried to get on the Wyoming ballot this year, but his petition was also found invalid.

Libertarian Party Petition in New Hampshire is Valid

Posted on by September 5, 2012
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The New Hampshire Secretary of State has determined that the Libertarian Party has enough valid signatures on its party petition, and will have its nominees on the November ballot.

The candidate petitions for the Green Party presidential nominee, Jill Stein, and the Constitution Party presidential nominee, Virgil Goode, have not yet been submitted to the Secretary of State. They are due at 5 p.m. September 5. It is expected that both campaigns will submit the petitions, which have already been verified by various town clerks, to the Secretary of State today. He will then make a final, official tabulation.

California Local Candidate Wins Reversal, May Appear as “Steve Albert Chavez Lodge” on Ballot Instead of “Steve Lodge”

Posted on by September 5, 2012
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On September 4, a candidate for Anaheim, California city council won a lawsuit over whether he could use “Chavez” as part of his name on the ballot. See this story. The tentative ruling had said he could not use “Chavez” but the judge changed his opinion after receiving more evidence about the candidate’s use of his full name. The case has important implications if the candidate wins, because Anaheim is under attack for its at-large city council elections, which have never produced a Hispanic city councilmember.

Ninth Circuit Stays Order that had Removed “None of These Candidataes” from Nevada Ballot

Posted on by September 5, 2012
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On September 4, the Ninth Circuit stayed the order of the U.S. District Court in Townley v Miller, 12-16881. This is the case in which the U.S. District Court had said “None of these candidates” should be removed from the ballot in Nevada. One of the three judges on the Ninth Circuit panel wrote separately to criticize the U.S. District Court Judge for issuing an order removing “None” from the ballot, yet delaying issuing a written order explaining the basis for his opinion. That delay made it procedurally difficult for Nevada to appeal. However, Nevada did successfully appeal.

The case is still not over, but it seems obvious that “None of these candidates” will survive further proceedings. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.