The August 4 Sacramento Bee has this op-ed by Steven Hill, analyzing how the top-two open primary worked in California recently.
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Shawn Steel, a former California Republican Party chair, has this interesting account of the California June 2012 outcome for the 74th Assembly District. The incumbent, who was the more conservative of the two Republicans running, placed first, and a second candidate, a Democrat, placed second, so they will be the only two candidates in November. The third candidate, the recipient of hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign assistance from adherents of the top-two primary system, only polled 23% and came in third.
According to this story, Bob Gray’s petition to be on the ballot for State Senate in the Illinois 50th district was challenged, and he does not have quite enough valid signatures to appear on the November ballot. This development leaves only one candidate, the Republican nominee, on the November ballot.
Gray is the President of the Springfield Citizens Club, a civic organization that sponsors lectures on matters of public interest. In 2009 he received the State Journal-Register’s “First Citizen” Award.
Illinois requires independent candidates for district office to submit a petition of 5% of the last vote cast, except that in years after redistricting, the requirement for State Senate is a flat 3,000 signatures.
On August 3, Patrick Manning won a lawsuit in New York Supreme Court, retaining his spot on the Republican primary ballot as a candidate for Assembly. New York requires legislative candidates to have lived in New York for the preceding five years. Manning’s ballot status was challenged on the grounds that he had been registered to vote at his vacation home in Massachusetts during that period. However, the Court found that Manning was a resident of New York during the entire period. See this story. Thanks to Bill Van Allen for the link.
New Mexico State Senator Howie Morales (D-Silver City) will introduce a bill in the 2013 legislative session to let candidates running in a primary qualify by paying a filing fee. Currently law requires petitions for access to a primary ballot in New Mexico. See this story.