On October 30, the Georgia Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Jim Powell, Democratic nominee for one of the statewide Public Service Commissioner races, should remain on the ballot. The Secretary of State, a Republican, had asserted that he does not live in his district, because he has two homes and his homestead exemption was on the house not in the district. But the Court said there are other methods to determine residency.
On October 30, the Albuquerque Weekly Alibi carried a column by a political analyst who says independent candidate Carol Miller may place second, ahead of the Republican nominee, in the race for U.S. House, 3rd district. The district is in the northern third of the state; the largest city in the district is Santa Fe. The district is strongly Democratic. Miller has been included in most of the debates and has been endorsed by the daily newspaper in Los Alamos. She is only the second independent candidate for U.S. House in New Mexico history.
New Mexico independent candidates are at a disadvantage because New Mexico has a straight ticket device. A “straight ticket device” enables voters to push one button that automatically casts a vote for all the nominees of one particular party. Voters who use the device often are not even aware of who they are voting for. Independent candidates are never given a device of their own, on the ballot; only parties get them.
Daily Kos has a daily tracking poll. The October 30 results are here. For weeks now, Barr and Nader had each been at 2%. However, the October 30 results continue to show Barr at 2%, but Nader down to 1%.
On October 28, the Federalist Society posting this on-line debate over the National Popular Vote Plan, between Tara Ross (who argues for the existing system) and Maryland State Senator Jaime Raskin (who supports the National Popular Vote Plan). Thanks to Rick Hasen’s ElectionLawBlog for the link. Ross and most other supporters of the Electoral College as it functions today usually express hostility toward minor parties and independent candidates, and this debate is no exception for her.
The irony is that Electoral College, as it functions today, actually helps minor party and independent presidential candidates. Voters nowadays are generally aware of whether their own state is considered a “swing state”, or whether it is hopelessly “safe” for one of the two major party nominees. These aware voters take that information into consideration when deciding whether to vote for a minor party or independent presidential candidate or not. For instance, on October 28, Noam Chomsky said that since he lives in Massachusetts, he will be voting for Ralph Nader. Chomsky recommended that other voters who live in “safe” states, and who favor single-payer medical insurance, should likewise vote for Nader. If we had a direct popular vote for president, Chomsky would presumably be voting for Obama.
On October 23, the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division (3rd department) ruled that when voters own two homes, they are free to choose which one to use as their voting residence. Here is the decision, Willkie v Delaware County Board of Elections, no. 504004. Thank to Bill Van Allen for the link.
