Matt Monica, a member of the Palm Desert School Board and also a member of the American Independent Party, will run for the California State Senate seat in the 37th district, in an upcoming special election. The first round is on April 13. Because there are three Republicans and three Democrats in the race, along with Monica for the AIP, it is very unlikely anyone will poll as much as 50% on April 13. Therefore, a three-party run-off is likely on June 8. See here for more information about Monica. He was elected to the School Board in 1980 through 1998, and also 2004 through the present.

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals has set a hearing date for Nader v Seroty, 09-cv-906, for April 21, at 9:30 a.m. This case is over whether Ralph Nader’s bank in D.C. should turn over the money in Nader’s bank account to the people who challenged his Pennsylvania petition in 2004. The Pennsylvania state courts long ago said that Nader must pay the court costs of the proceedings that removed him from the ballot, but in order to enforce that, the D.C. courts must honor the judgment. After the Pennsylvania courts ruled, it was revealed that the people who challenged Nader’s 2004 petition had broken Pennsylvania law by using state resources, state employees, and state computers for their challenge. The D.C. hearing will be the first opportunity that Nader has had to present evidence and arguments that the earlier order should be reversed.

On March 3, the Alabama House Constitution and Elections Committee will hold a hearing on HB 515. The bill would provide that presidential electors should be elected in proportion to their share of the popular vote within Alabama. Alabama has 8 electoral votes. Under the bill, if a presidential candidate polled roughly 38% of the vote, three electors pledged to him or her would be elected.

The bill is sponsored by Representative Demetrius Newton (D-Birmingham). A similar bill was introduced in previous sessions of the legislature, but did not pass. Thanks to Bob Friedman for this news.