A Superior Court in Sacramento, California, will hear oral argument on Wednesday, May 5, in the case on whether Proposition 16 should be removed from the California June 8, 2010 primary ballot. Proposition 16 would require a two-thirds vote of the public before any area sets up its own public electricity district. The case is before Judge Allen H. Sumner.
Chicago Reader has this fascinating story about how the chair of the Cook County Democratic Party hopes to keep the independent candidate, Forrest Claypool, off the November 2010 ballot, in the race for Cook County Assessor.
Claypool, a reformer with excellent credentials, needs 25,000 valid signatures by June 21. The Democratic nominee, Joe Berrios, is also the chair of the Cook County Democratic Party. Berrios plans to argue that voters who signed a petition to place anyone on the primary ballot for that office may not sign for an independent candidate. He also plans to argue that voters who voted in the February 2010 primary may not sign for an independent candidate. Thanks to Jeff Trigg for the link.
On Wednesday, May 5, the U.S. Senate Rules and Administration Committee will hear testimony about voting by mail. Scheduled to testify in person are: (1) U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon; (2) U.S. House member Susan Davis of California; (3) Kate Brown, Secretary of State of Oregon; (4) John Fortier of the American Enterprise Institute; (5) Rokey W. Suleman of the District of Columbia Board of Elections. The hearing is at 10 a.m. in the Committee’s normal hearing room, SR 301.
Professor Michael P. McDonald has submitted this written testimony. He is an expert on voter registration and voter turnout. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.
On May 3, a lawsuit was filed by some voters in New York’s U.S. House district 29. It is Larry Fox v Governor David Paterson, in the U.S. District Court, western district, 10-cv-6240.
Congressman Eric Massa resigned in March, and voters in the 29th district have been without representation in the U.S. House since then. The Governor has said he won’t call a special election because the state can’t afford it. Thus, unless the lawsuit wins, the voters of the 29th district will have been without representation for nine months.
According to this April 30 post on Arkansas Watch, the state chair of the Arkansas Republican Party said on the radio that he hopes a minor party gets on the ballot this year and runs someone for Attorney General.
Republicans failed to field anyone for Attorney General. The Democratic incumbent is Dustin McDaniel. It is now too late for an independent candidate to get on the Arkansas ballot, but it is not too late for a new party to get on the ballot. The Green Party, the Libertarian Party, and the Constitution Party, are all circulating their own petitions. They each need 10,000 signatures, and each party sets its own 90-day circulation period. However, any such petition must be submitted no later than June 30, 2010. The Green Party petition is due earlier than June 30, because the Green Party started earlier than March 30, 2010. Thanks to Bill Van Allen for the link.
