On November 8, Maine voters voted to restore election-day registration. Maine had had election-day registration since 1973, but the 2011 session of the legislature repealed it. Supporters of election-day registration then gathered the signatures to force a referendum on the matter, and their efforts were successful.
On November 8, Duchesne, Utah, held non-partisan elections for city council. Among the three winners was Bryce Hamilton, who is the chair of the Constitution Party Duchesne County organization. Duchesne is in northeast Utah and has a population of 1,610. Also, David Waddell was elected to the Indian Trail Town Council in North Carolina. Indian Trail has a population of 33,518. Waddell considers himself a Constitution Party member, although he is a registered Republican. Thanks to Frank Fluckiger for the Utah news and to Kevin Hayes for the North Carolina news.
Indianapolis City Councilman Ed Coleman, who changed his membership to the Libertarian Party, was defeated in his reelection bid. The results, with all precincts reporting, are:
JACK E. SANDLIN (REP) 4,760 75.68%
ED COLEMAN (LIB) 1,530 24.32%
On November 8, a 3-judge U.S. District Court issued an order that reveals they believe the Texas U.S. House and legislative district boundaries violate the federal Voting Rights Act. This may mean that the Texas March 6 primary will ultimately be postponed.
The case is State of Texas v U.S.A., cv-11-1303, in the District of Columbia. The three judges are U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Thomas B. Griffith, a Bush Jr. appointee; and two U.S. District Court Judges, Rosemary M. Collyer, another Bush Jr. appointee; and Beryl A. Howell, an Obama appointee. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the news.
On November 8, 2011, Pennsylvania voters will elect two statewide judges in partisan races. There is one race for Superior Court and one race for Commonwealth Court. Both are statewide posts.
The number of signatures needed for minor party and independent candidates to get on the November 2012 ballot for statewide office depends on the November 8, 2011 turnout. The 2012 petition requirement will equal 2% of the highest vote-getter’s vote among the four 2011 statewide major party candidates.
In November 2009, the Pennsylvania turnout for the statewide partisan judicial races was extremely low. As a result, the number of signatures needed in 2010 was only 19,082 signatures. Normally the requirement in Pennsylvania is approximately 25,000 signatures.
