The Constitution Party holds a national committee meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, Oct. 22-24. Former Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo will speak to the meeting on October 23.

This is the third meeting in a row of the National Committee of the Constitution Party to feature a talk by a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives. John Hostettler of Indiana addressed the December 2008 meeting, and Virgil Goode of Virginia addressed the spring 2009 meeting. Tancredo, unlike the other two former members of Congress, was not defeated for re-election. He chose not to run for re-election in 2008.

A 3-judge U.S. District Court will hear Republican National Committee v Federal Election Commission, 1:08cv-1953, on August 27, in Washington, D.C. The case challenges parts of the McCain-Feingold law that make it difficult for national political parties to help their own nominees in state elections. See this story. Thanks to ElectionLawBlog for the link. The case had been filed on November 13, 2008.

On August 18, city officials in Kinston, North Carolina, received a letter from the U.S. Justice Department, saying the Department will not approve letting Kinston switch from partisan city elections to non-partisan city elections. See this story.

The voters had voted to switch to non-partisan elections in November 2008. Now the city must hold a partisan primary on September 15, 2009, and a partisan general election on November 3. Also, Earl Harper, a candidate who is an independent voter, must collect the signatures of 4% of the city’s registered voters in order to run. The signatures are due in September; Harper needs about 560 valid signatures.