On June 16, California AB 308 passed the Senate Elections Committee with no opposition. The bill had already passed the Assembly. It provides that foreign absentee voters should receive a special set of ballots in races in which there will be a run-off if no one gets 50% in the first election. The set of ballots includes a ballot that the foreign absentee voter can use to rank candidates, just in case the result of the first election is that no one got 50% and there must be a run-off. This isn’t exactly the same as Instant-Runoff voting, but is similar.

Theresa Amato, author of “Grand Illusion: The Myth of Voter Choice in a Two-Party Tyranny” speaks about her book on Tuesday evening, June 30, at 7:30 p.m., in Washington, D.C. The location is Busboys & Poets, Langston Room, at 2021 14th St. NW (near the corner of 14th and V Streets).

The Texas Democratic Party does not permit Democrats to run in its presidential primary unless they pledge to “fully support” the party’s eventual presidential nominee. Congressman Dennis Kucinich refused to sign that oath in 2008, so was kept off the Texas Democratic primary ballot. He had challenged the party in court but lost the case in both U.S. District Court and the 5th circuit. He has decided not to ask for U.S. Supreme Court review.

However, he will ask the Democratic National Committee to tell the Texas Democratic Party that it should drop the oath. No other state unit of a major party has a similar oath for candidates in its presidential primaries.