As of November 29, two potential candidates for upcoming California special legislative elections asked the California Supreme Court for judicial relief, to give them accurate ballot labels, instead of the label “no party preference.”

The upcoming California special legislative elections are the first elections in which California’s top-two system will be in effect.  The candidates are Michael Chamness in the 28th State Senate election, and Carol Winkler in the 17th State Senate election.  Chamness is a registered member of the Coffee Party, and he wants to run with “My party preference is the Coffee Party” on the ballot next to his name.  Winkler’s voter registration card is filled out to show that she is an Independent (not just a normal Declines to State voter).  She wants “Independent candidate” on the ballot next to her name.  But under the implementing law for California’s new election system, they cannot have those labels on the ballot.  Yet, members of the six ballot-qualified parties can have their parties identified on the ballot.

The proposed intervenors wish to become part of the lawsuit Field v Bowen, which has this case number in the State Supreme Court:  S188436.  Here is the brief of the original plaintiffs in the State Supreme Court.

On November 29, the U.S. Supreme Court revealed that it had decided last Tuesday to hear the Arizona public funding case.  Technically, it is two cases that the Court is combining:  McComish v Bennett, 10-239; and Arizona Free Enterprise Club’s Freedom PAC v Bennett, 10-238.

The issue is whether a state’s public funding for candidates program may provide extra public funding for candidates who have privately-funded opponents with a great deal of resources.  This will be the second case the Supreme Court has ever taken that concerns public funding for candidates.  The first was Buckley v Valeo, which upheld the presidential public funding system in 1976.  See this story by Joan Biskupic.

The Billings Gazette has this comprehensive article about the surprising strength of Wyoming candidates who ran in 2010 outside the two major parties.  The “other” vote for Wyoming Governor this year was 10.3%, the highest such percentage for that office, for candidates running outside the two major parties, since 1894.  In 1894 the Peoples Party candidate for Governor had received 11.3%.

The article notes that the new Wyoming Senate consists of 26 Republicans and 4 Democrats.