A new political party has been formed. It is called The Practical Party. The webpage, thepracticalparty.com, is at this link. It is attempting to qualify a candidate under its own name in Illinois. The candidate is running for U.S. Senate.
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The Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, with backing from the county Board of Supervisors and the County Counsel, has decided to let voters fill out voter registration forms using electronic signatures. See this May 14 San Jose Mercury News story. Santa Clara County is the most populous county in northern California, and includes not only San Jose, but the other smaller cities in the neighborhood that are collectively known to the world as “Silicon Valley.”
The initial eight voters whose electronic signatures were accepted used iPads, iPhones, and other mobile touch-screen devices. The article indicates that the California Secretary of State acknowledges that each California County Elections office has the authority to make this decision for its own county. Thanks to Blair Bobier for the link.
The Lake Wales News has this story about Randy Wilkinson, the Tea Party candidate for U.S. House in the 12th district. Thanks to Doug Guetzloe for the link. Lake Wales is between Orlando and Tampa.
The Jacksonville Observer, a year-old publication that has been an on-line/radio medium only, has just issued its first print edition, dated May 2010. It includes a front-page story by Darcy Richardson, “The Tea Party: A Third Party in the Making?” Unfortunately, this very lengthy and news-filled article is not available on-line.
On May 12, New York Governor David Paterson called a special election to fill the vacancy in the U.S. House, district 29. However, it won’t be until November 2, 2010. The winner will get a two month term in November and December 2010. For much of that time, Congress won’t even be in session.
It is not clear if the people who recently filed a lawsuit to force a special election will be satisfied with the Governor’s decision. The seat has been vacant since March 2010, when incumbent Eric Massa resigned.