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Minnesota Governor Vetoes Bill to Move Primary

Posted on May 23, 2009 by adminMay 23, 2009

On May 22, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty vetoed SF 1331, which would have moved the primary from the first Tuesday after the second Monday in September, to the second Tuesday in August. The bill would also have moved the petition deadlines for new parties and independent candidates to earlier dates. For example, the petition deadline for non-presidential independent candidates would have moved from July to June. The presidential independent deadline would have moved from September to August.

Bridgeport, Connecticut Daily Newspaper Editorial for National Popular Vote Plan

Posted on May 23, 2009 by adminMay 23, 2009

The May 23 edition of the Connecticut Post, a Hearst chain newspaper based in Bridgeport, Connecticut, has this editorial in support of the bill to establish the National Popular Vote Plan.

The Connecticut bill, HB 6437, has passed the House and is pending in the State Senate.

Obama Expected to Choose New Supreme Court Nominee Before June 3

Posted on May 23, 2009 by adminMay 23, 2009

According to this Washington Post article, President Obama is expected to choose a new nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court before he leaves on an overseas trip on June 3. Thanks to “How Appealing” for the link.

Louisiana Bill to Deprive Small Qualified Parties of Ability to Nominate Has May 26 Hearing

Posted on May 23, 2009 by adminMay 23, 2009

The Louisiana House Committee on the House and Government Affairs holds a hearing on HB 776 on Tuesday, May 26. This is the bill that eliminates the ability of a small qualified party to nominate a candidate for Congress. Currently, all qualified parties in Louisiana nominate by primary for Congress. The bill would eliminate the primary for small qualified parties and replace it with nothing. Therefore, although members of small qualified parties could continue to run for Congress by paying the filing fee, if two members of the same party both ran for the same seat, both would appear on the general election ballot in November. The party itself would be unable to choose one of them. Thanks to Sam Gallo for this news.

Whig Party Name May Again Appear on Ballots

Posted on May 22, 2009 by adminMay 22, 2009

The last time the Whig Party appeared on the ballot in any state was in Alabama in 1974, when its nominee John Watts ran for Lieutenant Governor. Watts and the Whig Party had also appeared on the Alabama ballot in 1970, when Watts ran for Governor.

But in 2009, it appears likely that a Whig Party candidate for New Jersey legislature will qualify. And in Florida, the ballot-qualified Florida Whig Party is already campaigning for its nominee in 2010 for U.S. House, 2nd district (Tallahassee area). He is Paul McKain. For more about the platform of the Florida Whig Party, see http://floridawhig.com. The party has been ballot-qualified since January 2007, but has never before run any candidates.

Although some news reports said that the Whig Party ran a candidate for Constable in Alabama in 2008, that candidate actually ran as a Democrat.