Arizona Bill Advances, Would Require Presidential Nominees to Submit Proof of Qualifications

Posted on by February 24, 2010
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On February 23, the Arizona House Government Committee passed HB 2441. It requires the presidential nominees of qualified political parties to submit an affidavit stating his or her age, place of birth, and residency for the past 14 years. The affidavit would be accompanied by documents establishing these facts. Here is the text of the bill, which has 30 sponsors in the House (out of a membership of 60) and 10 sponsors in the Senate (out of a membership of 30).

Oddly, the bill does not make any demands on independent presidential candidates. Thanks to Thomas Jones for this news.

Tennessee Bills Would Remove Recount Authority in Primaries from Political Parties

Posted on by February 24, 2010
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Bills are pending in both houses of the Tennessee legislature to provide that when a partisan primary election result is disputed, the dispute should be resolved by an administrative law judge, not by the political party’s own officials. The bills are SB 2920, by Senator Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville), and HB 3019, by Representative John DeBerry (D-Memphis). The House bill has a hearing on March 2.

The bills are prompted by the 2008 incident when the Democratic Party reversed the results of a primary for State Senate. No one disputes that Rosalind Kurita got the most votes in the Democratic Party, but the Democratic Party ruled that she was not the nominee because it believed some Republicans had voted in the Democratic primary. Kurita’s lawsuit against the party for that is set for oral argument in the 6th circuit on March 24.

Connecticut Republican Party Plans to Intervene in Lawsuit Over Whether the Secretary of State May Run for Attorney General

Posted on by February 24, 2010
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According to this story, the Connecticut Republican Party will seek to intervene in the pending lawsuit in state court over whether Susan Bysiewicz may run for Attorney General. Bysiewicz is the Secretary of State. She is an attorney but the election code requires candidates for Attorney General to have been “in active practice” of law for the preceding ten years.

How to See Who is Contributing to the Campaign For and Against California Top-Two Measure

Posted on by February 24, 2010
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The California Secretary of State’s web page has information about contributions to committees that either support or oppose various ballot measures. See this link.

The most recent report by “Californians for an Open Primary” shows a contribution of $100,000 from Eli Broad, who is reported to be worth $5.2 billion. Forbes says he is the 93rd richest person in the world.

Californians for an Open Primary has also received $25,000 from the Pacific Life Insurance Company, based in Newport Beach, California; and $10,000 from William Hume, Chair of Basic American.

The only committee that has filed in opposition to Proposition 14 is “Protect the Democratic Party, Say No to the Open Primary”, but it has not reported any contributions yet.

The money donated to the Committee that backs Proposition 14 seems to have been mostly used to postally mail campaign literature to voters.