On July 30, the Supreme Court of the Navajo Nation ruled that two initiatives had successfully qualified for the Navajo ballot. The Court ordered the election to be held before the end of 2009. See this article. The Navajo Constitution provides for the initiative, if a petition signed by 15% of the qualified Navajo voters. The tribal administration had said the two initiatives did not have enough valid signatures, but the Court disagreed. The two initiatives concern (1) reducing the Tribal Council from 88 members to 24; (2) providing for a line-item veto.

The Moderate Party of Rhode Island will have collected 30,000 signatures on its petition to become a qualified party by Monday, August 3. The law requires 23,589 signatures, so the party believes that in four days, it will have enough valid signatures.

If the party has qualified, this is the first time any political party, or any statewide independent candidate, has completed a petition of 5% of the last vote cast since 2000, when the Libertarian Party, and the Reform Party, each completed Oklahoma’s 5% petition. Also, this is the first time a party has qualified itself using a 5% statewide petition in a midterm year since the Libertarian Party completed such a petition in Nevada in 1978 (Nevada eliminated its 5% petition requirement in 1987).

On July 29, Texas U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison said she will resign from the Senate in October or November 2009, in order to prepare to run for Governor in 2010. She had last been elected to the Senate in 2006.

Therefore, Texas will hold a special election for U.S. Senate on May 8, 2010. No petition is needed for special elections in Texas, so anyone who pays a filing fee can be on the May 2010 ballot, with a party label. If no one gets 50%, a run-off will be held on June 2.