On October 30, SurveyUSA released this poll, for the special U.S. House race in California’s 10th district. The poll only asked people to choose the Democratic nominee, the Republican nominee, or “other”. The results: John Garamendi (Dem.) 50%, David Harmer (Rep.) 40%, “Other” 6%. The other ballot-listed nominees are from the American Independent, the Green, and the Peace & Freedom Parties.

It is likely most of the other vote is going to the Green and/or Peace & Freedom Parties, because the “Other” voters were far more likely to have voted for Obama than for McCain. All the voters intending to vote “other” describe themselves predominently as “liberal” rather than “moderate” or “conservative.” See details of the poll here.

On October 30, the Illinois Green Party members who are running for statewide office in 2010 filed petitions to get themselves on their own party’s primary ballot. In most states, when a candidate files to get on his or her own party’s primary ballot, that is scarcely news. But in Illinois, election laws make it difficult for candidates to get on primary ballots. The statewide candidates each needed 5,000 valid signatures. See this story. The deadline isn’t until November 2, and there will be more news after that day on how many Greens filed to get on their own party’s primary ballot for Congress, state legislature, and county office.

Bridgeport, Connecticut, like other towns in that state, is hold local partisan elections on November 3, 2009. In Bridgeport, and certain other Connecticut towns, no one political party is permitted to run a full slate of candidates. This guarantees that local legislative bodies will not be comprised entirely of members of the strongest party.

Because the second-biggest party is guaranteed to win some seats, generally the Bridgeport city council and School Board are composed of Democratic and Republican nominees. However, this year, observers feel that it is not clear whether the Working Families Party or the Republican Party will win the seats reserved for the second strongest party. And, in the School Board race, one Republican member, Sauda Efia Baraka, who was denied renomination by the Republican Party is running for re-election as the Working Families Party nominee. See this story.