On February 23, a lower state court in Pasco County, Florida, ruled that the Green Party of Florida may subpoena financial records of the “mystery” candidates from the 2008 election. In the 2008 election, five individuals unknown to the Green Party had filed to run for the legislature in the party’s primary. The Green Party suspects that the five were recruited by Republican Party activists, for the purpose of injurning Democratic nominees. The suspicion was heightened when the candidates refused to communicate with either the public or the party’s officers, even after they were nominated. The case is King v Roman. The party is curious to see who paid the filing fees, which were approximately $2,000 each. Thanks to Kai Schwandes for this news.

According to this British newspaper, both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party now say they support lowering the voting age in Great Britain from 18 to 16. The article also says that the voting age in Austria is currently 16. Thanks to Ed Still for the link.

On March 3, the Arizona House Government Committee passed HB 2587. The bill would outlaw paying initiative circulators on a per signature basis. The vote was 8-0. The bill doesn’t seem to outlaw paying circulators bonuses for high production, but it is vague. It says, “A circulator may not receive compensation for collecting signatures if that compensation is based on the number of signatures collected.”