A poll of the 2011 Kentucky gubernatorial election shows these results: Democrat Steve Beshear 51%, Republican David Williams 30%, independent Gatewood Galbraith 6%, undecided 14%. Thanks to Political Wire for the link.
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On June 9, a 3-judge U.S. District Court ruled from the bench that Maine’s legislature must draw new boundaries for U.S. House districts in time for the 2012 election. The judges announced their decision immediately after hearing oral arguments in Desena v State, 1:11-cv-117.
Maine had argued that its legislature is too busy to draw new boundaries until 2013, and that the old districts are still relatively equal in population and that no harm would come from using the old districts in 2012. See this story. The panel of judges will issue a written opinion in a few weeks. If the legislature doesn’t draw new districts, presumably the court will.
It is very rare for Maine to lose an election law case in federal court. The state has won election law cases in federal court at least four times during the last fifteen years. Federal judges in recent years have even permitted Maine to get away with keeping an independent candidate off the ballot for U.S. Senate even though she followed the ballot access law. She submitted her petitions to the town clerks on the last day permitted for that and the town clerks said they didn’t have time to check the signatures, so the Secretary of State kept her off the ballot and the federal court refused to intervene. That case was Dobson v Dunlap, 576 F.Supp.2d 181 (2008). Also in 2008, another federal judge in Maine kept another independent candidate off the ballot for U.S. Senate by ruling that an entire sheet of signatures should be considered invalid, because one particular voter signed that sheet while the circulator allegedly wasn’t watching. That case was Hoffman v Secretary of State, 574 F.Supp.2d 179 (2008). And, the Maine Green Party lost all of its numerous constitutional ballot access cases against Maine during the 1990’s, and is only on the ballot nowadays because after losing its court battles, it persuaded the legislature to ease the state’s definition of “political party.”
On June 6, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would not hear Burris v Judge, 10-367. This is the lawsuit brought by former U.S. Senator Roland Burris of Illinois, after the 7th circuit denied him any opportunity to run in the special election for U.S. Senate in November 2010. The special election was to fill the seat for the remaining two months of President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat. Burris had been appointed to the remainder of the seat after Obama resigned to become President, but the 7th circuit had then ruled that Illinois most hold an election to fill the last two months of the term. But, the 7th circuit also said no one could appear on the ballot in that special election, except for the four individuals who were already on the November 2010 ballot for the full 6-year term election.
No philosophically sound justification exists for the 7th circuit decision. In effect, the voters, and the political parties, were all denied any ability to nominate candidates in this election. The U.S. Supreme Court was obviously troubled by the 7th circuit decision. The Supreme Court’s first conference on whether to hear this case had been held on November 23, 2010. It is extremely unusual for the Court to take that long to decide whether or not to hear a case.
On June 2, the Constitution, Green, and Libertarian Parties of Pennsylvania asked for a rehearing in the case against the Pennsylvania system that puts candidates in extreme financial jeopardy if they submit ballot access petitions that do not have enough valid signatures. The rehearing petition is very strong and is twelve pages long. The case is called Constitution Party of Pennsylvania et al v Cortes.
Former Congressman Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party presidential nominee in 2008, has this June 8 column on the recent indictment of John Edwards, the Democratic Party’s vice-presidential nominee in 2004. Edwards was indicted for supposedly breaking the federal campaign finance laws. One of his best friends and supporters gave him a great deal of money, which he used to support Rielle Hunter, his mistress. Federal prosecutors say the gift to Edwards was an illegal campaign contribution.