HR 1503, the bill in Congress to require presidential candidates to file a copy of their birth certificate when they file with the Federal Election Commission, now has 4 co-sponsors. The bill had been introduced on March 12 by Rep. Bill Posey (R-Florida). On May 5 the bill gained its first co-sponsor, Rep. Bill Goodlatte (R-Virginia). On June 12 it gained three more co-sponsors, all Republicans from Texas: Representatives John Carter, John Culberson, and Randy Neugebauer.

The bill also requires that presidential candidates submit “other documentation” if necessary to establish eligibilty to meet the Constitutional requirements.

The June 17 Oklahoma Gazette has this article on HB 1072, the bill to somewhat improve the ballot access law for new and previously unqualified political parties. The Oklahoma Gazette is Oklahoma City’s leading free weekly newspaper.

The legislature has adjourned for the year, but Oklahoma has two-year legislative sessions, so the bill will receive attention in 2010. It passed both houses this year, but in different form, and the conference committee didn’t act in 2009.

The Gazette article quotes a Common Cause official as saying that long ago, the Socialist Party was the second largest party in Oklahoma. That is an exaggeration, but it is true that after the 1914 election, the Socialist Party had 6 state legislators in Oklahoma. At the same time, there were 22 Republicans in the state legislature. The Socialist Party got 20.8% of the gubernatorial vote in 1914. Thanks to Micah Gamino for the link.

On June 15, the California State Appeals Court reaffirmed a lower court ruling, that when electronic vote-counting machines without a paper trail are used, and the losing side in a close election contests the results, election officials must disclose certain information about the vote-counting machines. Specifically, elections officials must provide: (1) all audit logs; (2) all redundantly stored vote data; (3) the complete chain of custody information for all system components and for human access to stored data; (4) all logic and accuracy test reports. The decision is here.

The case had originated in Berkeley in 2004, when a medical marijuana initiative lost by only 191 votes. The losing side wanted a recount, but there was no paper trail. The outcome has little relevance to future California elections, since all vote-counting equipment must now have a paper trail. The case may have more influence in the future for certain other states that don’t have paper trail requirements.