Arizona Voters Will Vote on Whether to Re-Name "Secretary of State" as "Lieutenant Governor"

Posted on by May 3, 2010
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Before the Arizona legislature adjourned for the year, it passed SCR 1013. The proposed constitutional amendment will be on the November 2010 ballot. It asks voters if they wish to re-name the Secretary of State as the Lieutenant Governor. See this story.

Arizona has never provided for an officer named “Lieutenant Governor”, and instead has always said that the Secretary of State will become Governor if there is a gubernatorial vacancy. The measure also provides that Governor and Lieutenant Governor will be elected as a pair in November, although the two offices would continue to be separate in the primary. This system of separate voting for the two offices in primaries, but together in the general election, has not been successful in Illinois. The Arizona legislature should probably have provided for a proposed change that would require teaming up in the primary as well.

American Third Position Web Page Most-Visited of Any U.S. Political Party

Posted on by May 3, 2010
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According to the American Third Position’s web site, Alexa says that more visitors have recently been to that web site, than to the web page of the Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, Green, or Constitution Party’s web pages. See here.

The party’s recent post gives the rankings (among all web pages) for each of those six parties. If all web pages were listed in the order of how many people have visited, the most-visited web page on the entire list would have a ranking of “one”. Therefore, web pages that try their best to attract as many visitors as possible are happier with a smaller number than a larger number. The numbers, according to American Third Position, are: American Third Position 18,409; Republican 19,544; Democratic 24,356; Libertarian 24,423; Green 125,027; Constitution 167,893.

The American Third Position is not ballot-qualified in any state and has never had any candidates for federal or state office, unless it has had some stealth member-candidates running in Democratic or Republican Party primaries.

U.S. Supreme Court Asks for Solicitor General’s Input on Felon Voting Case

Posted on by May 3, 2010
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On May 3, the U.S. Supreme Court revealed that at its April 30 conference, it had decided to ask the Solicitor General of the United States to submit a brief in Simmons v Galvin, 09-920. This is the case from Massachusetts over whether the Voting Rights Act can ever apply to state laws that prevent felons or ex-felons from registering to vote. It will be fascinating to see what position the Solicitor General takes.

After the Court gets the Solicitor General’s brief, it will decide whether to hear the case.

U.S. Supreme Court Asks for Solicitor General's Input on Felon Voting Case

Posted on by May 3, 2010
Reply

On May 3, the U.S. Supreme Court revealed that at its April 30 conference, it had decided to ask the Solicitor General of the United States to submit a brief in Simmons v Galvin, 09-920. This is the case from Massachusetts over whether the Voting Rights Act can ever apply to state laws that prevent felons or ex-felons from registering to vote. It will be fascinating to see what position the Solicitor General takes.

After the Court gets the Solicitor General’s brief, it will decide whether to hear the case.

Former Ohio Congressman to Run in 2010 as an Independent Candidate

Posted on by May 2, 2010
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According to this news story, former U.S. House member James Traficant of Ohio will file to run for the U.S. House in 2010, as an independent candidate. The petition deadline for independent candidates in Ohio this year is May 3. Traficant has not said which district he is running in. Independent candidates for U.S. House in Ohio need signatures equal to 1% of the last vote cast in that district for Governor. UPDATE: he is running in the 17th district in northeast Ohio. It is likely the Democratic nominee will be Traficant’s former staffer, incumbent Democrat Tim Ryan. See this story. The primaries are on May 4 and the identity of the Democratic primary winner is unknown for certain.