According to this story, three-term Alaska State Representative Kyle Johansen will run for re-election this year as an independent candidate. He had previously been elected as a Republican.
Reply
On May 31, the California Assembly passed AB 1436 by a vote of 42-24. It makes it possible for individuals to register to vote on election day. If the bill becomes law, California will be the first large-population state to allow same-day registration. Thanks to Rob Richie for this news.
Kesha Rogers, a supporter of Lyndon LaRouche, appears to have won a narrow victory for the Texas U.S. House Democratic nomination in the 22nd district. The district is south of Houston. The vote is Rogers 3,659; K. P. George, 3,553. However, these are unofficial results, although all precincts have reported.
Rogers won the same nomination in 2010. In the 2010 Democratic primary she had two Democratic opponents, but she still got 52.3% of the Democratic vote in that primary. Here is a statement about her results at Executive Intelligence Review, a news source for the LaRouche movement.
The Federal Election Commission has approved Gary Johnson’s request for primary season matching funds. Independent Political Report has the story here. The only other presidential candidate who has received primary season matching funds this year is Buddy Roemer, but, as noted earlier, he is no longer seeking the presidency.
On May 31, U.S. District Court Judge Robert L. Hinkle granted injunctive relief to some organizations that wish to register voters in Florida. Here is the 27-page order. The case is League of Women Voters of Florida v Browning, 4:11cv628.
The laws that were enjoined were passed by the legislature in 2011. The first law that is enjoined is one that says groups that register voters must return all such completed forms to the elections office within 48 hours of the voter’s having signed the form.
The second law is one that requires groups to identify every person who works on a voter registration drive, even if the individual only hands out leaflets.
The third law enjoined is one that requires everyone who works on a voter registration drive to sign a sworn statement that he or she knows that anyone who submits a voter registration form that includes any false information is guilty of a felony. That law makes little sense, because people who help others fill out voter registration forms must submit all completed forms to elections officials, whether there is any misinformation on the form or not. Furthermore, a volunteer in a voter registration drive probably wouldn’t know if anything a voter wrote on a card is false or not.
A fourth law enjoined is one that requires voter registration groups to account for every blank form.