The Idaho Secretary of State’s office is working on its proposed omnibus election law changes bill. The office expects to include a proposal lowering the number of signatures for an independent presidential candidate to exactly 1,000 signatures. The existing law, requiring approximately 6,000 signatures, was declared unconstitutional last year and the state did not appeal. The proposal will also eliminate the in-state residency requirement for petition circulators.
Virginia Delegate Mark Cole (R-Fredericksburg) has introduced HB 1507, to move the 2011 primary from June 14 to September 13. Virginia holds elections for state office in odd years, including 2011, of course. The reason for the bill is that there is little time for states with odd year elections for state office to draw new district boundaries after a census. The new boundaries probably won’t exist until July. Even if the legislature rushes a new redistricting plan, the Voting Rights Section of the U.S. Justice Department must approve the new boundaries.
The bill would also change the petition deadline for independent candidates, and the nominees of unqualified parties, from June to September. A federal law passed by Congress in 2009, to help overseas absentee voters, has the effect of requiring all states to eventually hold primaries no later than August. However, that bill only controls federal elections. Therefore, Virginia is free to hold September primaries in 2011, a year when only state office is on the ballot.
Utah state representative Craig Frank (R-Cedar Hills) moved to a new home on January 1, 2009, but he believed his new home was still in the district he had been representing. However, the new home was not in his district. No one noticed, and he filed for re-election in 2010 and was re-elected. Then he himself discovered the problem. The legislature may be called into special session to redraw the boundaries. See this story.
The district is overwhelmingly Republican. Frank received 77.47% of the vote in the November 2010 election. His Constitution Party opponent, Curt Crosby, received 6.82%; his Democratic opponent, James Crismon, received 15.71%. Thanks to Rob Latham for the link.
Utah state representative Craig Frank (R-Cedar Hills) moved to a new home on January 1, 2009, but he believed his new home was still in the district he had been representing. However, the new home was not in his district. No one noticed, and he filed for re-election in 2010 and was re-elected. Then he himself discovered the problem. The legislature may be called into special session to redraw the boundaries. See this story.
The district is overwhelmingly Republican. Frank received 77.47% of the vote in the November 2010 election. His Constitution Party opponent, Curt Crosby, received 6.82%; his Democratic opponent, James Crismon, received 15.71%. Thanks to Rob Latham for the link.
On January 10, the Libertarian Party of Los Angeles County filed this 19-page brief in the party’s lawsuit against a California law that says no one may circulate a petition in lieu of filing fee outside of his or her own county and also may not circulate outside of his or her own district. The case is pending in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
The brief emphasizes that even though the Secretary of State’s attorneys say the residency requirement is not enforced, the Secretary of State’s web page implies that it is. Each time another special election is called (and two have been called in the last few weeks), the Secretary of State’s web page for that particular upcoming special election restates the relevant election laws, and always includes the residency requirement for circulators. At the same time these web page entries also mention the one-year duration of residency requirement for candidates. But these web page entries always say in a footnote that the residency requirement for candidates is not enforced. Because there is no footnote saying the residency requirement for circulators is not enforced, a reasonable person would assume that the requirement for circulators (as opposed to requirement for candidates) is enforced.
