On July 23, a lower state court in Oklahoma City will hold a hearing in the criminal case against Paul Jacob, Rick Carpenter, and Susan Johnson, for conspiracy to invite out-of-staters to circulate an initiative petition in Oklahoma. July 23 is not the trial date. It is merely a procedural hearing in which the state must explain to a judge why a trial should be scheduled. Jacob, Carpenter, and Johnson encourage people to attend this hearing, which begins at 9 a.m. For more information, call Brandon Holmes, 703-586-7088.

The three were told by a representative of the Oklahoma Secretary of State’s office that it is legal for temporary residents of Oklahoma to circulate initiative petitions. Later, though, they were arrested for conspiring to use temporary residents to circulate their initiative petition.

In the meantime, the civil case that challenges the constitutionality of Oklahoma’s ban on out-of-state initiative circulators will be argued in the 10th circuit sometime in September. Oklahoma may be hard pressed to explain why only people domiciled in Oklahoma may circulate initiative petitions, when certain kinds of people who are not domiciled in Oklahoma are permitted to vote (for example, military personnel stationed in Oklahoma, and college students attending school in Oklahoma even though they are domiciled outside the state). Oklahoma will also need to explain why any adult may circulate a petition in Oklahoma for a new party or an independent presidential candidate.

Vermont elects a governor this year. The first gubernatorial debate this year in Vermont will be on July 20, in Waitefield, and will include the Republican, Democratic, and Progressive nominees: Governor Jim Douglas, Gaye Symington, and Anthony Pollina. The debate will center on the environment, energy, food, and farming.

The Oregon initiative to limit the general election ballot to only the two candidates who received the biggest votes in the May primary will almost certainly qualify for the November ballot. The initiative submitted 119,653 signatures. The law requires 82,769 signatures.

Oregon backers of the “top-two” initiative insist on calling their proposal the “open primary” initiative, even though reference books and court decisions that define these terms say that an “open primary” is one in which each party has its own primary, but any voter is free to choose any party’s primary ballot.