Connecticut Legislature Ends Latest Special Session, Takes No Action on Public Funding Law

Posted on by December 23, 2009
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The Connecticut legislature had a brief special session this week, but again it took no action to amend the law on public funding for candidates for state office. So, the original law will be the subject of the upcoming 2nd circuit oral argument on January 13, 2010. The U.S. District Court had invalidated the law on August 27, 2009, and the 2nd circuit is expediting the state’s appeal of that decision. But if the legislature had acted during December, 2009, that could have mooted the case, or at least mooted parts of it. The lawsuit is Green Party of Connecticut v Garfield.

Alabama Congressman Switches from Democratic to Republican

Posted on by December 22, 2009
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On December 22, Parker Griffith, a Democratic member of the U.S. House from Alabama, said that he is changing parties, and is now a Republican. He had been elected in 2008 for the first time, receiving 158,324 votes. His only opponent in 2008, a Republican, received 147,314 votes. His district, the 5th, is in the north end of Alabama, and includes Huntsville and Florence.

If Parker Griffith lived in California, his party switch would mean that he could not run for re-election. California law, unique among the 50 states, says that no one can get on a primary ballot if he or she had been a registered member of some other party at any time in the year before filing. Filing for the California primary opens in March 2010.

Congressional Bill to Study Alternate Voting Methods for U.S. House Elections

Posted on by December 22, 2009
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On October 29, Congressman Alcee Hastings (D-Florida) introduced HR 3972, which would set up a commission to study alternatives to the current system by which voters choose members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill suggests that the Commission would study proportional representation and cumulative voting. The Commission would also study whether the size of the U.S. House should be increased, and it would study how U.S. citizens who live in the District of Columbia and U.S. territories may obtain voting representation in the U.S. House.

The bill only has five co-sponsors so far, and they happen to all be from the District of Columbia or from one of the U.S. territories. Thanks to Dave Kadlecek for this news.