California Secretary of State Releases “Mock Election” Results from Some California Schools

Posted on by October 27, 2010
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On October 27, the California Secretary of State released the results of mock elections for Governor, U.S. Senator, and some state ballot propositions.  These elections are held in many California schools.  The results are from 389 schools, and involve the votes of 105,000 students.  A few schools have yet to report.

For Governor, the student vote is:  Jerry Brown, Democrat, 48.8%; Meg Whitman, Republican, 22.5%; Carlos Alvarez, Peace & Freedom, 15.0%; Laura Wells, Green, 5.8%; Chelene Nightingale, American Independent, 4.9%; Dale Ogden, Libertarian, 2.9%.

U.S. Senate:  Barbara Boxer, Democrat, 48.5%; Carly Fiorina, Republican, 22.4%; Marsha Feinland, Peace & Freedom, 11.5%; Duane Roberts, Green, 7.3%; Edward Noonan, American Independent, 6.1%; Gail Lightfoot, Libertarian, 4.4%.

Student “mock elections” in California traditionally show more support for minor parties than is present in the electorate.  In 2008, the California “mock election” for President had been:  Obama, 73.8%; McCain, 20.7%; Nader, 2.4%; McKinney, 1.5%; Barr, 1.0%; Keyes, .7%.

Florida State Appeals Court Reverses Lower Court, Says Jim Norman is the Republican Nominee for State Senate, 12th District

Posted on by October 27, 2010
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On October 27, the Florida State Appeals Court reversed the lower court decision in Norman v Ambler.  See this story.  The issue was whether the winner of the Republican primary, for State Senate in the 12th district, should remain as the Republican nominee.  The lower court had disqualified Jim Norman because it found that he had violated campaign finance laws.  The State Court of Appeals said that is no basis to overturn a primary election result.

The Republican Party had chosen a new nominee a few days ago, but that new nomination is now meaningless.  It is conceivable, but unlikely, that the case will be appealed to the Florida Supreme Court.  UPDATE:  no appeal to the State Supreme Court will occur.  See this story.

Mexican American Political Association Endorses Four Statewide Peace & Freedom Party Nominees

Posted on by October 27, 2010
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The Mexican American Political Association is a 50-year old California political organization.  It is non-partisan but it endorses candidates in California elections.  This year it has endorsed the Peace & Freedom Party nominees for four of the eight statewide partisan races.  It has endorsed Marylou Cabral for Secretary of State, Karen Martinez for Controller, Debra Reiger for Treasurer, and Dina Padilla for Insurance Commissioner.  For the other four statewide partisan races, MAPA endorsed the Democratic nominees.

MAPA’s web page is www.mapa-ca.org.  The preamble to the list of endorsements says, “The gap between wealth and poverty has not been as extreme since the 1890s, and it is only getting worse.  The political challenge presented to all Latino and non-Latino organizations, typically tied to the Democratic Party, is the sad reality that the political party in power with majorities at the state and national level not observed since the 1970s has continued to pursue economic and social policies not in accord with its own core constituencies.  Having said that, we are not confident that the Democratic Party in California or nationally will do anything beyond managing the crisis for big capital at the continued expense of working people.”

Colorado Will Count Write-ins When Voter Forgot to Fill in the Oval, if those Votes are Material to the Outcome

Posted on by October 27, 2010
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As a result of Kathleen Curry’s lawsuit in state court, Colorado election officials will recognize the validity of write-in votes in which the voter forgets to fill in the oval next to the write-in line, if that vote is material for knowing who was elected.  Curry is a write-in candidate, and she is also an incumbent running for re-election.  She is a write-in candidate because she changed her registration from “Democrat” to “independent” in December 2009, too late to be eligible to qualify as an independent candidate this year.