The Independent Party of Hawaii is launching a drive to qualify for the ballot in 2010. The party also appeared on the Hawaii ballot in 2008, and was the vehicle for getting Ralph Nader on the ballot that year. For more information, contact Shaun Stenshol, 808-283-6878, or nadermoore@yahoo.com. The party needs 663 valid signatures.

One-state parties that nominated Nader for president in 2008, and which are ballot-qualified in 2010, are the Peace & Freedom Party of California, the Independent Party of Connecticut (which is ballot-qualified for some offices but not all offices), the Independent Party of Delaware, the Ecology Party of Florida, the Natural Law Party of Michigan, the Independent Party of New Mexico, and the Peace Party of Oregon.

on September 2 and September 3, the California legislature acted on several election bills of interest.

The Assembly passed SB 34, which makes it illegal to pay initiative petition circulators on a per-signature basis. The bill now goes to the Governor, who is expected to veto it.

The Senate on September 3 gave a tie vote to AB 1121, 19-19. Bills lose on a tie vote. However, reconsideration was granted, so there will probably be a new vote. Two Senators didn’t vote the first time. AB 1121 is the bill to let 10 non-charter cities or counties use Instant Runoff Voting for their own elections.

The bill to provide that independent voters must be told, at the polls on primary day, that they are free to choose a Republican ballot, a Democratic ballot, or an American Independent Party ballot, was tabled in the Senate on the motion of Senator Abel Maldonado. The bill, AB 909, had passed the Assembly and all Senate committees. The fact that the bill was tabled almost certainly means that it won’t pass this year, although it could be a 2-year bill and pass in 2010. However, in that case, it wouldn’t take effect in time for the 2010 primary.

According to this story, a Pike County, Pennsylvania, Court of Common Pleas will itself recount the write-in votes in this year’s primary for local office, in a few precincts. The recount will be conducted in open court on September 9. The county elections office expected to conduct the write-in itself, but the judge pointed to a statute that a court should do this work. Pennsylvania, more than any other state, provides that courts should do the kind of work that election administrators in other states usually perform, such as checking petition signatures.