On April 24, the Connecticut legislature tabled HB 5024, the bill that would have made it possible for voters to register at the polls on election day. Thanks to Josh Van Vranken for this news.
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The Federal Election Commission, at its April 26 meeting, had been scheduled to decide whether to lift the contribution limit when a candidate suffers a loss of campaign funds due to embezzlement. The request had been made by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, who is running for re-election this year. The FEC had also been set to decide this issue at its April 12 meeting, but had postponed the decision until April 26.
At the April 26 meeting, the FEC postponed the decision again, and now it is scheduled for the May 10 meeting. It is alleged, and widely believed, that Feinstein’s campaign treasurer embezzled $4,500,000 from the Feinstein campaign treasury, which had previously contained $7,000,000. The treasurer has enterd a guilty plea.
Paul White is an independent candidate this year for State Senate in Stone County, Arkansas. His petition is due on May 1. The district has an incumbent Republican who is running for re-election this year. According to this story, the Republican County Committee has asked that its own members who signed the White petition should either rescind their signatures, or resign from the committee. Five members of the committee have refused to rescind their signatures and have now resigned. Thanks to Charles Foster for the link.
On April 26, the Alabama Senate passed SB 15. As amended, it lowers the number of signatures for minor parties and independent non-presidential candidates from 3% of the last gubernatorial vote, to 1.5% of the last gubernatorial vote. It also moves the deadline for newly-qualifying parties (but not for independent candidates) from primary day, to 22 days after the runoff primary. This year the runoff primary was April 24.
The bill has an urgency clause so if it is signed into law, it takes effect immediately. However, if it to be helpful in 2012, any minor party would need to move quickly, because the new petition deadline for minor parties would be May 16 this year. The number of signatures would be 22,415 for statewide office. Thanks to Richard Rutledge for this news.
On April 23, the Sixth Circuit issued this opinion in McGlone v Bell, 10-6055. The issue was whether the plaintiff, a Christian who wanted to speak to students on a public college campus, could be barred if he didn’t apply fourteen days in advance before entering the campus. The Sixth Circuit also cast some doubt on the school’s policy that requires the speaker to identify himself or herself and explain the purpose and type of his speech. The latter issue was remanded back to the U.S. District Court for further inquiry.
The college is the Tennessee Technological University, in Cookeville, Tennessee. The decision will be helpful to petitioners throughout the states of the Sixth Circuit, which are Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan.