Steve Kornacki, Salon’s news editor, has this commentary on the chances of a powerful third force presidential candidate next year.
The column, and similar commentary, usually say that minor party and independent candidates for important office never win. These articles should acknowledge that in the period starting in 1970, there have been seven gubernatorial elections and six U.S. Senate elections in which someone won who was not a major party nominee.
Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, a Republican, is interviewed in the Lancaster, Ohio Eagle-Gazette. See this story. He says this year’s legislative session has acted in a way that is making election administration in Ohio very difficult. This is an implicit criticism of Husted’s own party, because Republicans have majorities in both houses of the legislature and hold the Governorship.
California Governor Jerry Brown’s web page has this area for commenting on a bill that he is about to either sign or veto. Near the top is a section “Please choose your subject” and there are many generic issues listed. Underneath the alphabetical list of generic subjects is a list of bills that are on his desk, to be either signed or vetoed. First are listed the Assembly bills in numerical order, and then the Senate bills, also in numerical order.
Readers of this blog may wish to use this feature to ask him to veto SB 205, which makes it illegal for a voter registration worker to be paid on a per-signature basis. Under California’s new “top-two” law, the only way parties may keep their qualified status is to boost their registration up to approximately 110,000 registered members by November 2014. For the last 40 years, the only way parties in California have boosted their registration for purposes of qualifying for the ballot has been to hire “salespersons” who go out on the street and try to persuade people to register as a member of that particular party. This “sales” job is difficult, much more difficult than persuading someone to sign a petition. Making it illegal for parties that need more registered members to pay people on a “per-sale” job will make it much more expensive to get the job done.
Governor Brown must act on SB 205 by October 1, 2011.
Newspapers that cover New Jersey are editorializing that Carl Lewis should remain on the ballot as the Democratic nominee for State Senate, 8th district, in the November 8, 2011 election. Although the Third Circuit put him on the ballot, the Republican intervenors appealed that to all the judges of the Third Circuit, and that appeal is still pending. See this Philadelphia Inquirer editorial. Here is an editorial in the Cherry Hill Courier Post.
Here is a story about the appeal, in which Law Professor Frank Askin, an expert on election law, says he expects the full Third Circuit to review the case.
On November 8, 2011, Portland, Maine voters will choose a Mayor using Instant Runoff Voting. This Portland Press Herald story illustrates the ballot. Fifteen candidates are running for Mayor. Voters may rank as many of them as they wish. Click once on the picture of the ballot to magnify it.
