On January 8, Real Clear Politics published this essay by David Paul Kuhn, which tries to draw conclusions about public attitudes on how big or small government should be. The essay relies on polling data. Pollsters find it tough to measure opinion about ideological issues, so there isn’t as much poll data on ideology as there is on more concrete questions. Thanks to Tim Brace for the link.
Mississippi ballots have always contained write-in space, but the state has a unique law that says write-ins can not be counted unless one of the candidates whose name is printed on the ballot has died after the ballots were printed, but before election day.
Representative John Mayo (D-Clarksdale) has introduced HB 56, which says that write-ins are generally permitted, without regard to whether any ballot-listed candidate has died. The bill covers write-ins in both primary and general elections.
The Boston Globe has this interesting story about Vermont’s independent U.S. Senator, Bernie Sanders. One of the interesting tidbits in the story is that Senator Sanders’ older brother, Larry Sanders, is an elected Green Party county councillor in Oxford, England.
On January 1, “Third Party and Independent Daily” was launched. See it here. We seem to be at a moment in time when interest in independent candidates and minor parties is growing. The new blog is one sign of that. Also, the number of former or current public officials who say they will run as independent candidates in 2010 is large and constantly growing.
The Kentucky Senate State and Local Government Committee holds a hearing on Wednesday, January 13, on SB 53. The bill requires political parties that hold primaries to let independent voters vote in those primaries. In Kentucky, only parties that polled at least 20% of the last presidential vote are entitled to primaries. Parties that polled at least 2% for President, but under 20%, nominate by convention. The bill doesn’t have any provision about parties that nominate by convention.
