The Americans Elect web page now says that 2,008,069 signatures have been obtained on ballot access petitions around the nation. Last week’s total had been 1,938,465, which shows that 69,604 have been gathered in the last week. That represents an accelerated process, relative to previous periods.
According to this story, local election officials in New York are finding that many more write-in votes are being cast, now that the state has finally stopped using mechanical voting machines. Instead, New York voters mostly now use paper ballots, and it is easier for voters to cast a write-in. Mechanical voting machines required voters to find a slot near the top of the machine, and manipulate a small handle to open up the space on which to cast a write-in vote.
On November 8, Virginia elected its legislature. Libertarian Party nominee Mike R. Kane, running in the 41st House seat in Fairfax County in a two-person race, polled 31.5% of the vote. The incumbent Democrat, Eileen Filler-Corn, won the election. The Washington Post had endorsed Filler-Corn and had dismissed Kane with a single sentence, that he “is no match” for the incumbent, without specifying why. See this editorial (scroll down to the 41st district endorsement).
Kane is the first Libertarian nominee for the Virginia legislature to poll higher than 28.9%. The Libertarian Party has been running candidates for the Virginia legislature since 1979. The returns aren’t official yet and could change slightly when they are official. Thanks to Independent Political Report for this news.
The Daily Caller has this article, saying Buddy Roemer is thinking about running for president outside the two major parties. Roemer has been seeking the Republican nomination, but the Florida Republican Party refused to list him on the Florida Republican presidential primary ballot (there is no other way for him to get on that ballot), and he has been barred from all the Republican presidential debates so far.
Roemer was elected as a Democrat to Congress from Louisiana in 1980 at the age of 37. He was re-elected in 1982, 1984, and 1986, and then in 1987 was elected Governor as a Democrat. In March 1991 he changed his party affiliation to Republican, and was defeated for re-election that year after the Republican Party endorsed another Republican running for Governor. In 2008 Roemer campaigned for John McCain for President. Thanks to Eric Dondero for the link.
On November 8, an independent candidate, Stephen Bridy, was elected to the Northumberland County Commission. Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, holds partisan elections for this office, and elects all three members at-large. See this story.
The election was close. Parties can only run two nominees in these elections, so there were only five candidates running. The two Democratic candidates, both incumbents, received these votes: Vinny Clausi 7,456; Frank Sawicki 5,545. The lone Republican incumbent, Merle Phillips, received 5,475; and the other Republican nominee, Rick Shoch, received 7,960. The independent received 5,828, enough to win the third slot.
It is rare for candidates who are not Republican or Democratic nominees to win important office in Pennsylvania, partly because of the straight-ticket device. No one other than a Republican or Democratic nominee has been elected to the legislature since 1934, when two Socialist Party nominees won. However, in 1980 an independent was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from a Philadelphia district.
Northumberland County has a population of 94,528 and is in the center of the state. The county seat is Sunbury.
