| Page 4192

Nevada Republicans to Hold Presidential Caucus Sometime in January 2012

Posted on October 2, 2011 by adminOctober 2, 2011

On October 1, the Nevada Republican Party executive board voted to hold Nevada’s 2012 presidential caucuses in January, although the Board did not set a particular date. See this story. Thanks to Frontloading HQ for the link. Although the national Republican Party rules permit Nevada to be one of the four earliest states to choose delegates, the national rules do not permit any states, not even the favored four, to choose delegates before February. Therefore, if the national rules are followed, Nevada (and undoubtedly New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina) will lose half their delegates.

Some Republican Party leaders in the states that are breaking the rule do not believe that it matters if a state party loses half its delegates, because in recent decades, the delegates don’t do anything meaningful anyway.

Articles Explains Two Separate Methods on How Registering to Vote On-Line Can Work

Posted on October 2, 2011 by adminOctober 2, 2011

This article discusses SB 397, the California bill that would let individuals register to vote on-line. But it also explains that there are two plausible methods for capturing a signature from the person registering to vote. The bill would use the signature that already exists in government Motor Vehicle Departments. The second half of the article also discusses a device that could be used to electronically record a new voter’s signature.

As the article says, SB 397 has neither been signed nor vetoed yet, and Governor Jerry Brown has until October 9 to act. Another bill concerning voter registration, SB 205, would outlaw paying registration workers on a per-registration card basis. UPDATE: Governor Brown has until October 9 to act on SB 205, not October 1. His deadline is 30 days from the date the legislature adjourned, not 30 days from the date on which the bill was presented to him.

Greta Van Susteren Says Letting Four Particular States Hold Earliest Delegate Selection Process Isn’t Fair

Posted on October 1, 2011 by adminOctober 1, 2011

Greta Van Susteren of Fox News interviews Rick Santorum here. The interview is six minutes and 15 seconds long. At four minutes into the interview, Van Susteren expressed the thought that it is not fair for four particular states (Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina) to always be the only states permitted to go first in the major party delegate selection process. She repeatedly presses Santorum to defend that policy.

One of the selling points of Americans Elect is that the Americans Elect presidential nomination process does not arbitrarily single out the voters of four particular states and give them a preference in the process. Thanks to Political Wire for the link to the interview.

Pennsylvania Bill to Let Each U.S. House District Choose Its Own Elector has Hearing on Tuesday, October 4

Posted on October 1, 2011 by adminOctober 1, 2011

The much-publicized Pennsylvania bill to provide that each U.S. House district would elect its own presidential elector has been introduced, and is SB 1282. It has a hearing on Tuesday, October 4, in the Senate State Government Committee. The author, Senator Dominic Pileggi, is the leader of Senate Republicans, and Republicans have a 4-3 majority on the committee.

Even though the bill has been introduced, the bill still isn’t drafted, according to the legislature’s web page. Therefore, it is not known whether the bill will provide that candidates for presidential elector must live in their district, or whether the petition to get minor party and independent candidates on the ballot will be transformed from a statewide petition to a petition that is circulated within each district.

Ohio Incumbent Kept Off Ballot Because His Petition Mis-Stated the Number of Signatures Collected

Posted on October 1, 2011 by adminOctober 1, 2011

Louis Chine, an incumbent member of the Austintown, Ohio, School Board, is being kept off the November 8, 2011 ballot because his petition slightly mis-stated the number of signatures listed. See this story. He has filed a lawsuit in state court, hoping to be placed back on the ballot. In the meantime his name is still on the absentee ballots.

U.S. ballot access laws are frequently illogical, and this is a prime instance. The purpose of a petition is to show that the candidate has a modicum of support. Whether the petition correctly counted the number of signatures contained on it has nothing to do with whether the candidate has support.