The U.S. Supreme Court held a conference on the morning of December 12, and in the afternoon announced it had accepted two new cases. Both of them are disputes about commercial matters. The Court said nothing about any further pending cases concerning Barack Obama’s eligibility, but on Monday when the “refused” list is released to the public, any such cases will probably be on the list.
The outgoing members of the Illinois legislature will be in session again starting December 15. It is very likely that a bill will be introduced to provide for a special election to fill U.S. Senate vacancies. If such a bill passes, the most likely date for such a special election will be in April 2009.
Official returns in the 11 states that held Gubernatorial elections last month reveal these national totals:
| Democratic |
8,380,276
|
| Republican |
7,892,923
|
| Libertarian |
260,350
|
| Green |
31,317
|
| Constitution |
28,941
|
| Liberty Union (VT) |
1,710
|
| Blue Enigma (DE) |
1,596
|
| independent candidates |
83,495
|
On the evening of November 11, the Michigan House passed the National Popular Vote Plan bill by 65-26. Since the Michigan House is fairly evenly balanced between the two major parties, this vote showed surprising support for the idea from Republicans.
A bill has been pre-filed in the Arkansas legislature to move the presidential primary from February to May. It is HB 1021, sponsored by a Democrat and a Republican. For commentary, see here.
