The September 9 issue of the Idaho Statesman has this commentary on the upcoming trial in the lawsuit filed by the Republican Party to win a closed primary for itself. Idaho now has a classic open primary, in which no voter is asked to choose a party on the voter registration form. Idaho Republicans want to institute a system in which voters register by party.
On September 9, a Massachusetts House Committee heard testimony on HB 656, which would let the Governor appoint a U.S. Senator immediately after a seat becomes vacant. The appointee would only serve until the state held a special election. According to this story, 600 people attended the hearing. U.S. Senator John Kerry testified in favor of the bill.
On September 9, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Citizens United v Federal Election Commission. Here is the New York Times account of the argument. There is a fair chance that the opinion will be released in the next 30 days. UPDATE: here is the 99-page transcript, thanks to Rick Hasen of ElectionLawBlog.
On September 8, a lower state court in Thurston County, Washington, said the Referendum petition against the state’s domestic partners law is valid, even though on many petition sheets, the circulators did not sign that sheet. Also, many petiton signatures were valid even though the signers did not register until after they had signed. Washington Families Standing Together v Reed. The decision is being appealed.
On September 9, Massachusetts Treasurer Thomas Cahill, as expected, declared his independent candidacy for Governor. See this article. He had been elected as a Democrat in 2006 but had changed his registration to “independent” a few months ago. The last time someone other than a Democrat or Republican placed second for Governor of Massachusetts was 1913, when the Progressive Party nominee for Governor, Charles Sumner Bird, placed ahead of the Republican nominee. Bird got 27.7%, losing to the Democratic nominee Thomas Walsh, who got 39.8%.
