Texas Bill to Abolish Straight-Ticket Device Introduced

Posted on by November 12, 2008
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Texas State House member Joe Straus, Jr. (R-San Antonio) has just introduced a bill to abolish the straight-ticket device on general election ballots. There is no bill number yet. Republicans still have a majority in each house of the legislature, but it is not known if the Republican Party of Texas will support the bill. This news story about the bill says that almost half the voters of Bexar County (San Antonio’s County) used the straight-ticket device last week, and the article also says that 56% of the voters who used the device last week in Bexar County chose the Democratic Party’s device.

States that have abolished the straight-ticket device recently include New Hampshire, Illinois, and Missouri. Apparently 17 states, including Texas, still have them. Straight-ticket devices make it possible for voters to vote for all partisan offices without even looking at any part of the ballot except the very top. The devices are especially injurious to independent candidates. Thanks to Art DiBianca for the link.

This story is a reminder that bills are already being introduced in the Texas legislature for the 2009 session, and that ballot access reformers must act quickly if they are to get a ballot access bill introduced.

Decision is Now Available in New York Case On Constitutional Qualifications for Congress

Posted on by November 11, 2008
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The U.S. District Court decision in New York State Republican Committee v New York State Board of Elections is here. It is a 4-page transcript of the judge’s oral decision, delivered from the bench on October 31. For more about the issue in this case, see this November 1 post. The basic issue is whether a Congressional candidate is ineligible because of his or her residency before the election. The Court found that because Article One of the U.S. Constitution says a member of Congress must reside in that state “when elected”, the residency requirement in the Constitution does not concern itself with where the candidate lives prior to the election.

This marks the 4th case in which the principles set forth in U.S. Term Limits v Thornton have been used to expand eligibility for candidates to run for Congress. U.S. Term Limits v Thornton said that states cannot add to the qualifications to be a member of Congress. That decision then caused the 9th and 10th circuits to strike down California and Colorado laws that said a candidate for Congress must be a registered voter. Then, in 2006, the 5th circuit said that a candidate is eligible no matter where he or she lives. Now, we have this fourth decision, from New York, agreeing with the 5th circuit Texas decision.

Perhaps eventually, courts will realize that the principle set forth in U.S. Term Limits v Thornton also means that states cannot bar “sore losers” from the general election ballot for Congress.

U.S. District Court Hears Oral Arguments in Presidential Primary Date Lawsuit

Posted on by November 11, 2008
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On November 10, a U.S. District Court in Tallahassee, Florida, held oral arguments in Ausman v Browning, 4:07-cv-519. This is the interesting case on whether or not Florida is violating the First Amendment rights of the national Democratic Party, by holding its presidential primary so early as to violate the national party rules. See this article. The plaintiff is a member of the Democratic National Committee; he is also an official in the Florida state Democratic Party. National Democratic rules forbid presidential primaries earlier than February, except for New Hampshire and South Carolina. But Florida law sets the presidential primary in January.

Ausman failed to get injunctive relief in time for the Democratic convention of 2008, but he hopes to win declaratory relief, which would have an impact on future presidential elections.

California Redistricting Measure Now Leads By 170,726 Votes

Posted on by November 11, 2008
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California’s Proposition Eleven is currently leading by 170,726 votes (as of 9 a.m., Pacific time, Nov. 16). Proposition Eleven removes legislative redistricting from the hands of the legislature and places it with a Commission. The current margin is 50.8% to 49.2% (5,455,269 to 5,284,543). Here is a link to the California Secretary of State’s webpage, which shows updated totals for Prop. Eleven, and also a map showing which counties voted “yes” and which voted “no”.

The Commission that would draw legislative district boundaries reserves four seats on the fourteen-member commission for voters who are registered, yet who are not registered Republicans or Democrats.

Mystery Green Legislative Candidates in Florida Didn’t Alter Outcomes

Posted on by November 10, 2008
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This year, five registered Greens ran for the Florida legislature. They were all individuals who were completely unknown to the Green Party leadership. But because the Florida law was changed in 2007 to provide that all parties (not just the parties with registration of 5%, meaning the Democrats and Republicans) nominate by primary, it was easy for anyone to register into any party and file for that party’s primary, regardless of the wishes of a minor party’s leadership.

News stories said that all five Greens had only been registered in the Green Party for a few weeks before they filed. Some had previously been registered Republican, some independent, and some had not even been previously registered. Reporters suspected that Republicans had recruited them to run so as to increase the chances that Republicans would win the legislative seats in question. That may or may not be true. In any event, none of the 5 Greens seem to have changed the identity of the winners in those 5 races. In three of the races (State Senate districts 25 and 27, and State House district 44) the Republican nominee won over 50% of the total vote. In the other two (State House districts 69 and 81), although no one received as much as 50% of the total vote, Democrats won both seats.