The June 21 Atlanta Journal-Constitution has this story on the impending decision of the U.S. Supreme Court on the constitutionality of part of the Voting Rights Act. That decision could come on June 22, and must come no later than June 29.

It is a sad commentary that Georgia’s Secretary of State can say that Georgia has no voting rights problems, when Georgia has kept all minor party candidates for U.S. House off the ballot in regularly-scheduled elections ever since 1943. Even the Libertarian Party, which is recognized as a qualified party for statewide office only, has never been allowed to place a candidate for U.S. House on the ballot in a regularly-scheduled election (the requirements for special elections are far easier, and a Libertarian once ran in a special election for US House).

Georgia also has a voting rights problem with its statewide ballot access laws. No statewide minor party or independent candidate petition has succeeded in Georgia since 2000.

Part of the reason that Secretary of State Karen Handel can say that Georgia has no voting rights problems is that the minor parties in Georgia have not been actively agitating about the problem.

On June 19, the Arizona State Senate gave preliminary approval to SCR1025, which would ask the voters in 2010 if they wish to eliminate funding for the state’s public financing program for candidates for state office. The bill passed the Senate, but the vote was not recorded, because it was just a preliminary “committee of the whole” vote. A formal vote will probably be held on June 23.

The Arizona public funding program is also under attack in federal court. Last year, a U.S. District Court Judge ruled in McComish v Brewer that the part of the act that provides for extra public funding for participating candidates who have non-participating opponents is probably unconstitutional. The judge did not enjoin the program for the 2008 election because the case had been filed so late, but the case is continuing.

An interesting analysis of the effect of the Arizona public funding program was published in the Phoenix New Times of March 31, 2009. It concludes that the chief change in Arizona politics caused by public funding has been a boost to more conservative Republicans, as opposed to “Chamber of Commerce”-type Republicans.

On June 17-18, the Prohibition Party held a national committee meeting in Memphis, Tennessee. At the meeting, a member of the committee announced that she will run for Governor of Tennessee in 2010. Because Tennessee only requires 25 signatures for independent candidates, but 45,464 signatures for political parties, she will run as an independent. The Chattanoogan newspaper covered her announcement in this news story. Thanks to Professor J. David Gillespie for this news.