On the afternoon of December 22, the California Secretary of State posted the requirements for candidates to run in the special election for State Senate, 17th district, in northern Los Angeles County.  She says a candidate who does not wish to pay the filing fee may avoid the fee by collecting 3,000 signatures of registered voters on December 22 and December 23.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1974 that the U.S. Constitution requires an alternative to filing fees, at least for poor candidates.  And in 1974, the California Supreme Court ruled in Donovan v Brown that an alternative to the filing fee must be available to all candidates, rich or poor.  A petitioning period of one and one-half days obviously does not satisfy due process.  It is unparalleled in U.S. history for any state to require a candidate to collect 3,000 valid signatures in a single legislative district in just one and one-half days.

The vacancy was created when State Senator George Runner resigned on December 21.  The election is on February 15.

On December 20, North Carolina State Board of Elections finished its recount in the State Appeals Court race from last month.  See this story.  The election made history by being the first election in the United States for a statewide office, in a general election, to use Instant Runoff Voting.

The U.S. Supreme Court conference of Friday, January 14, will consider whether to hear Coffield v Kemp, 10-596.  This is the case that challenges Georgia’s rules for non-Democratic, non-Republican candidates to get on the ballot for U.S. House of Representatives in regularly-scheduled elections.  They are so restrictive, they have not been used since 1964.  Back in 1964, the petition deadline was in October, no notarization of signatures was required, and the petitions were not checked for validity.  Since the current rules have existed, as revised in 1964, they have never been used for U.S. House candidates.

Every other state has had minor party or independent candidates on the ballot for U.S. House during the last decade.