Idaho currently has the initiative process, which requires the signatures of 6% of the registered voters. Senator Curt McKenzie (R-Nampa) has introduced S1026. It requires that statewide initiative petitions ask each signer to write the signer’s legislative district on the petition. Also it says that a single petition sheet cannot contain signatures of voters from more than a single legislative district.

Idaho has 35 legislative districts. Probably the overwhelmingly majority of voters do not know their legislative district number. The bill also requires that the petition contain the signatures of 6% of the registered voters in at least 22 of the 35 legislative districts. The bill was reportedly introduced at the request of the Farm Bureau, which hopes to stop any future initiatives on the subject of cruelty to farm animals.

Five parties with “Socialist” or “Socialism” in their names ran their own presidential candidates in 2012. Generally these parties ignore the existence of the other socialist parties, in their campaign literature, and their periodicals. But the Freedom Socialist Party’s most recent newspaper, the February/March 2013 issue of “Freedom Socialist”, breaks with that tradition, and explains the political differences with the Party for Socialism and Liberation. See this article by Megan Cornish.

Within the Liberal Party of Canada (one of Canada’s two largest parties) there are activists who want their party to officially endorse proportional representation. They have organized to persuade their party to endorse it. See here for their webpage. Thanks to Thomas Jones for the link.