Great Britain is holding a House of Commons election on May 6. Three debates among the leaders of the Labour, Conservative, and Liberal Democratic Parties have been scheduled (one has already taken place).

On April 23, the BBC Trust, which controls the invitations to these debates, ruled that two other parties will not be included in these debates. The two parties are the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru. See this story. The BBC Trust said that only the three invited parties have a chance of winning the election. Thanks to Eric Garris for the link.

Neither the Scottish National Party, nor Plaid Cymru, have enough candidates for House of Commons to elect a majority. It is not clear if two other parties that do have enough candidates to elect a majority, the UK Independence Party and the Green Party, have also complained about being excluded from the debates.

Michigan is one of a minority of states that still uses a straight-ticket device on general election ballots. Such devices permit a voter to make one mark on a ballot, so that the voter has then automatically voted for each of that party’s nominees. Straight-ticket devices make it possible for a voter to vote in all partisan offices without even looking to see who is running.

The Detroit Free Press of April 23 has this op-ed, defending the straight-ticket device. It is by Mark Brewer, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party. The op-ed says that 40% of Michigan’s voters use the device.

Great Britain is voting for House of Commons on May 6. A nominee of the U.K. Independence Party died on April 22. See this story. The story reveals that when a candidate listed on a British ballot dies, the election in that district is postponed for three weeks, to give the affected political party time to find a replacement nominee. Thanks to Bill Van Allen for the link.