Free and Equal is holding an Illinois gubernatorial debate on October 9 at 6 p.m. Candidates from all parties, and independent candidates, were invited. Two of the leading six Republican candidates for Governor, Dan Proft and Adam Andrzejewski, will participate. Also participating is Rich Whitney, who is expected to be the Green Party’s nominee, and several others, including one Democrat, Bill Walls. See Free and Equal’s web page here for more details. UPDATE: the debate was covered in the October 10 edition of the Southern Illinoisan newspaper of Carbondale, Illinois. See this story.

The Republican race so far is perceived as a 6-way race. At a recent Cook County Republican meeting, a straw poll shows these results, with Andrzejewski in third place, and Proft in fourth place. See this story.

It is somewhat unusual for debates to be held among all candidates from several different parties, before a primary election. However, Minnesota held many such debates in 1998, starting in January, even though the Minnesota primary was not held until September. Jesse Ventura participated in many of these debates, along with the three Democratic contenders for Governor and the Republican contender.

A New York state court will hear arguments on October 9, in a case to determine whether the New York Democratic Party’s nominees for Justice of the Supreme Court, 5th district, should remain on the November 3, 2009 ballot. See this story. In New York, Justices of the Supreme Court are elected on a partisan basis, from judicial districts. Nominees are chosen by convention. The 5th district is the area in and around Syracuse. The objector who filed the lawsuit to remove the nominees says the convention procedures did not follow state election laws.

On October 8, the U.S. House passed S.1390, the Defense Authorization bill. It includes the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act, which requires states in federal elections to mail absentee ballots to overseas voters by 45 days before the election. The bill now goes back to the Senate.