On June 20, the Louisiana Senate passed HB 533 by 26-9. This is the Secretary of State’s omnibus election law bill. Among other things, it lets independent candidates for all office have “independent” on the ballot next to their names. Previously, only independent presidential candidates could have that label. The bill also removes the names of presidential elector candidates from the ballot.
On June 17, U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Hughes, a Reagan appointee, ruled that a November 2010 ballot measure passed by the voters of Houston, Texas, is invalid. Here is the six-page opinion in City of Houston v American Traffic Solutions, Inc., southern district H-10-4545. There will be an appeal. American Traffic Solutions is the company that installs red light cameras at intersections.
Texas election law, and the Houston city charter, permit initiatives to amend to city charter, but there is no initiative process for ordinances. There is provision for referendums for ordinances, but referendum petitions must be filed shortly after an ordinance is passed by the city council. In 2004 the Houston city council passed an ordinance to use cameras to record cars running red lights. No one filed a referendum petition against that new policy in 2004. As time went on, popular discontent with the cameras increased, so in 2010 the city council, responding to popular opinion, put a proposed Charter Amendment on the ballot to ask the voters if they wish to eliminate the cameras. The voters passed it, but this decision invalidates the vote, on the grounds that an issue that narrow can’t be a Charter amendment. It is not clear why this case is in federal court instead of state court.
Paul Jacob, head of Citizens in Charge, has this commentary on Flash Report, a California politics blog. The commentary makes the case against SB 448, the California bill to force everyone who circulates an initiative, referendum or recall petition to wear a large sign on his or her chest.
Americans Elect’s web page now says 1,348,312 signatures have been obtained on petitions around the nation, to get that party on the ballot. The page seems to update that figure each Thursday. Last week’s total had been 1,262,665. The vast majority of these signatures have been obtained in California, where 1,030,040 valid signatures are needed.
In California, Americans Elect petitioners are being paid $1.25. However, if a petitioner submits at least 400 signatures per week, the pay for all signatures for that petitioner that week is raised to $2.00 per signature.
The Prohibition Party presidential convention in Cullman, Alabama, received this publicity in the Cullman Times newspaper.
