On August 28, the West Virginia Independent Commission on Judicial Reform held a conference on possibly recommending public funding for judicial candidates in West Virginia. See this story in the September 2 Record, a legal newspaper in West Virginia. The Commission heard from North Carolina public officials. North Carolina elects its judges on a non-partisan basis and has a method for judicial candidates to file for public funding.
Briefs are due on September 8 in Daien v Ysursa, the case in U.S. District Court that challenges Idaho’s ban on out-of-state circulators for independent presidential candidates. The plaintiff, Donald Daien, wants to be a volunteer petitioner in many states for candidates who believe in the same ideas that Ralph Nader supports. Daien was a volunteer petitioner for Nader in the past in several states.
On September 2, the U.S. District Court hearing Libertarian Party of Tennessee v Thompson issued a scheduling order. Discovery closes on November 30, and then final briefs will be filed. This case challenges the procedures for putting new or previously unqualified on the Tennesssee ballot. No group has used those procedures since 1968. They require almost 50,000 signatures, due 4 months before the primary, and the petition must say that all the signers are party members. This case was filed in early 2008.
The Los Angeles Times has this op-ed, by former Republican Assembly leader Robert Naylor. Naylor argues against a proposal that California should abolish one of its state legislative chambers.
Every month, the Gallup Organization releases a poll, asking voters if they identify as Republicans, as Democrats, or as others. If they respond “other”, they are asked if they lean toward either the Democratic or the Republican Party. Here are the August results: Democrats 34%, leading to the Democratic Party, 11%, Republicans 28%, leaning Republican 12%, other 15%.
The “Other” figure was at 13% in January and February, at 14% in March, May and June, and at 15% in the other months of 2009. Thanks to PoliticalWire for this news.
