The editor of the News Journal of Clinton County, Ohio, has this detailed and interesting analysis of Ohio election law concerning which voters are independents and which are party members. Ohio law on this matter is easily the most arbitrary and confusing of any state. Ohio does not ask voters to indicate party membership (or independent status) on voter registration cards. But unlike other open primary states, it tries to categorize individual voters as either party members or independents, and uses these categories to exclude candidates from ballots based on so-called party membership or independent status.

On June 19, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley signed SB 2. See this story. Candidates for state and local office who fail to file certain documents relating to their personal finances will no longer be barred from ballots. As the Governor mentioned, in 2012, 200 candidates were kept off the ballot because of trouble filing forms relating to personal financial interests.

John Jay Hooker has been a prominent Democrat in Tennessee for decades, and he is also notable for being the first friend of Ross Perot’s to suggest to Perot that he run for President. Hooker was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Tennessee in 1970 and 1998, but he didn’t win either time.

Hooker has been arguing for decades that the current system of judicial appointment in Tennessee violates the State Constitution, which says the judges shall be “elected” by the people. Since 1994, Tennessee Supreme Court Judges do not run for re-election; instead, at intervals, the voters are asked if they wish to retain the particular judge. Here is Hooker’s analysis of why that system violates the State Constitution.

On June 24, Hooker’s lawsuit will be heard in state court. Previous lawsuits of his, and similar lawsuits, filed in both federal and state courts, have always encountered procedural roadblocks. See this story.