The Casper Star-Tribune has this article about the Wyoming Constitution Party.
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According to this story, Florida legislative leaders now acknowledge problems with HB 1355, the 2011 bill that altered many Florida election laws, and expect to revise it. Criticism in Florida has focused on very long lines at the polling places. HB 1355 also added a restriction that parties not recognized as national committees must submit over 100,000 signatures to be on the ballot for President, a law that the Secretary of State has not enforced generally because the Secretary has no official knowledge of which parties are recognized by the FEC as national committeees. However, in 2012, when the Socialist Workers Party stated in writing that it is not recognized by the FEC as a national committee, the Secretary of State kept it off the ballot for President. The article does not discuss this part of HB 1355.
Because New York State released its official November 2012 vote tally, the presidential results are virtually complete. Totals appear to be: Barack Obama 65,899,557; Mitt Romney 60,931,959; Gary Johnson 1,275,559; Jill Stein 466,877; Virgil Goode 122,106; Roseanne Barr 67,349; Rocky Anderson 42,518; Tom Hoefling 40,113; Randall Terry 13,104; Richard Duncan 12,543; Peta Lindsay and her stand-in Gloria LaRiva 9,300; Chuck Baldwin 5,017; Will Christensen 4,453; Stewart Alexander 4,430; Tom Stevens 4,302; James Harris 4,116; Jim Carlson 3,149; Jill Reed 2,916; Merlin Miller 2,715; Samm Tittle 2,571; Jerry White 1,279; Dean Morstad 1,093; Jerry Litzel 1,027; Jeffrey Boss 1,024; Barbara Washer 1,016; Andre Barnett 938; Jack Fellure 518. The Freedom Socialist candidate, Stephen Durham, wasn’t on the ballot anywhere but received 115 write-ins.
This list includes everyone who was on the ballot in at least one state. There were other individuals besides Stephen Durham who weren’t on the ballot in any state but who filed for write-in status in some states, but their vote has not been tabulated here.
By the evening of January 1, 2013, the December 1, 2012 print edition of Ballot Access News will probably be posted here, and even though normally past print issues are not updated, in this case, that issue will be updated to include the vote for president by state for each candidate.
On December 31, the New York State Board of Elections posted the official November 2012 election returns. The final tally includes 400,332 votes that had not been counted when the state posted its tentative returns several weeks ago.
These tickets gained the following number of votes, compared to the tentative tally: Democratic 305,843; Republican 77,769; Working Families 6,587; Conservative 5,864; Green 2,030; Libertarian 1,892; Constitution 164; Party for Socialism and Liberation 137; declared write-in candidates up 46.
The new presidential totals in New York state are: Obama 4,471,871 (including 147,643 Working Families votes); Romney 2,485,432 (including 262,035 Conservative votes); Johnson 47,092; Stein 39,856; Goode 6,270; Lindsay 2,039; Rocky Anderson 212 (Justice); Stephen Durham 34 (Freedom Socialist); Tom Hoefling 34 (America’s Independent Party); James Harris 26 (Socialist Workers); Jerry White 19 (Socialist Equality); Jill Reed 12 (Twelve Visions); Merlin Miller 6 (American Third Position). See here for the New York State Board of Elections official returns.
David Wasserman’s election returns tally has already been adjusted to reflect the New York returns. See here. He shows these national presidential percentages: Obama 51.06%; Romney 47.21%; all others 1.73%. He shows the number of votes cast for President in 2012 is 129,066,357, which is a lower figure than his 2008 figure of 131,313,820. Wasserman also shows that Hawaii’s returns still aren’t final and official.
Bills have been introduced in both houses of the Texas legislature to establish bipartisan redistricting commissions.
HJR 38, by Mark Strama (D-Austin) would set up a commission to redistrict U.S. House districts and state legislative districts. It would consist of seven members. The most senior member of each house, among each of the two largest parties, would choose one member of the Commission. Three of those four commissioners would need to agree on the identity of the fifth member of the Commission. Then, the fifth member of the Commission would choose two retired federal judges, and the two judges would need to have been appointed by presidents of different political parties. The two judges would become the sixth and seventh members of the Commission.
The bill doesn’t provide for the possibility that only one, or no, retired federal judges would be willing to accept this work. Also it doesn’t provide for ties among a determination of which legislator in each house has the most seniority.
Senator Royce West (D-Dallas) has introduced SB 104, to establish a commission that would only draw U.S. House boundaries. It would have nine members. The two largest party caucuses in each House would each choose two members. Five of those eight would need to agree on the choice of the ninth member.
These bills leave virtually no role anyone but Democrats and Republicans to choose commission members.