Bill Clutter, a private investigator in Springfield, Illinois, is launching an initiative to change the Illinois open primary, from one in which primary voters must ask for one particular party’s primary ballot, to one in which primary voters in the secrecy of the voting booth choose one party’s primary ballot. States with secret open primaries include Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Here is the initiative petition. In states with secret open primaries, the voter is limited to voting in only one party’s primary. Thanks to Nancy Hanks for the link.

On September 7, Carl Lewis, the Democratic nominee for New Jersey State Senate who is being kept off the November 7, 2011 ballot, asked the 3rd circuit to put him on the ballot. The case is Lewis v Guadagno, 11-3401.

One of the least-discussed flaws with the Electoral College system is that there are an even number of presidential electors. Generally, commentators assume some presidential candidate will always receive a majority of the electoral votes if no minor party or independent candidate carries a state. But that assumption is wrong. Even with only two candidates receiving electoral votes, a tie could occur and then the U.S. House would choose the president, with each state having one vote. See this. Scroll down to the bottom. Thanks to Political Wire for the link.

The Electoral College did result in a tie in 1800. Also, in the 1876 election, the winner received only one more electoral vote than the loser.