SF 13, introduced into the Wyoming 2011 legislative session by Senator Kit Jennings (R-Casper) and Representative Amy Edmonds (R-Cheyenne) would eliminate the ability of a voter to switch parties on primary election day. It would also change the deadline for a voter to switch parties before primary day, from 30 days before the primary, to 60 days before.

If this bill passes, and if the Democratic Party does not wish to be bound by the new, more restrictive time limits, the Democratic Party could probably win a lawsuit, to retain the ability of people to switch to the Democratic Party on primary day. Thanks to Nancy Hanks for news about SF 13.

The New York Conservative Party had its best electoral showing in November 2010, than at any time since 1998, for all levels of federal and state office. Its showing for Governor was the best for the office at the top of the ballot (i.e., President in presidential years and Governor in gubernatorial years) since 1998. Its 2010 gubernatorial showing was 4.99%, for Carl Paladino, who was also the Republican nominee. And the party’s 2010 share of the vote for all the other statewide races was higher than its gubernatorial showing. It polled 5.24% and 5.42% for each of the two U.S. Senate races; 5.44% for Comptroller; and 6.33% for Attorney General. All of its statewide nominees were also Republican nominees.

For U.S. House, the party’s nominees polled 5.96% of the total vote cast in the districts in which the party had nominees. For State Senate, the percentage was 6.68%; for Assembly, 7.64%; for Justice of the Supreme Court, 8.05%. The party ran a nominee in each U.S. House district in 2010, for the first time in its history. It had more legislative nominees this year than at any time since 2002.

In the 2010 U.S. House races, the party nominee was not the same person as the Republican nominee in five districts. In the 23rd district, most commentators believe that the presence of a Conservative Party nominee in that race caused the incumbent Democrat to be re-elected. The vote for the Conservative nominee, Douglas Hoffman, was 10,507 votes, and the margin between the two major party nominees was 1,995 votes.

The party’s low point, in modern times, was 2004, when it polled 2.10% for President, 3.71% for U.S. House in the districts in which it had nominees; 4.20% for State Senate in such districts; 4.03% for Assembly in such districts; and 4.47% for Supreme Court.

The December 29 issue of the Albany Times-Union has this editorial, condemning New York state’s present law for recounts, which sets out no objective standards on when a recount should be held. The editorial was responding to the decision of the highest state court, ruling that no recount should be held in the race for State Senate, 7th district. The margin was 451 votes out of 85,405 cast. The control of the State Senate rested on that one race.

One of the strongest points in the editorial is that it is absurd that New York switched to a system that has an audit trail, if no one is going to use the audit trail. The old voting system in New York was mechanical voting machines. Recounts are impossible in places that use mechanical voting machines. One can double-check the tallies shown on the back of the machine, but one can’t recount anything because there is nothing to recount. But in 2010 New York switched to paper ballots, which can be recounted.