At 5:30 pm at a St. Petersburg, Florida outdoor rally, Florida Governor Charlie Crist said he will run as an independent candidate this year for U.S. Senate. See this AP story.
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On April 27, the Hawaii legislature passed HB 2397 and sent it to the Governor. This bill moves the primary from September to August. Hawaii is the third state to have eliminated a September primary this year (assuming the Governor signs the bill). The others are Vermont and Minnesota.
The press in Delaware has noticed that one town in northern Delaware, Delaware City, does not permit voters to vote in town elections unless they have “currently paid all city taxes, fees, charges, liens and debts that are due.” See this story. The town held its most recent election on April 6, 2010.
The town’s policy appears to violate several U.S. Supreme Court decisions. In 1966, the Court said in Harper v Board of Elections that “A state violate the Equal Protection Clause whenever it makes the affluence of the voter or payment of any fee an electoral standard.” There were also 3 decisions in 1969 which struck down local laws restricting the franchise to people who own property.
Stephen Colbert will have California’s Lieutenant Governor, Abel Maldonado, on his TV show, “The Colbert Report” on Thursday night, April 29. The show is part of Comedy Central. See this story.
On April 28, the Louisiana Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee passed HB 292. It moves congressional elections back to the pattern used between 1998 and 2006. There are no congressional elections until November. All voters use the same ballot, and that ballot lists all candidates. If anyone gets 50% or more in November, that person is elected. Otherwise the top two finishers face off in December.