U.S. Senator Bill Nelson Introduces Constitutional Amendment for Direct Presidential Vote

Posted on by June 7, 2008
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On June 6, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) introduced Senate Joint Resolution 39, to abolish the electoral college and provide a direct popular vote for president. The Library of Congress web site, http://thomas.loc.gov, will have the text posted very soon, but it is not there yet. See this commentary about the proposal from Atlantic Monthly.

Senator Nelson also introduced legislation on September 6, 2007, for federal regulation of presidential primaries. The bill, S.2024, would divide the U.S. into six regions. All presidential primaries would be between March and June. A lottery would determine the order of regions.

Finally, Senator Nelson introduced S.3100 on June 6. It requires the states to permit no-excuse absentee voting in federal elections, and sets up a pilot project for mail balloting.

Obama Could Conceivably Be Listed Four Times on South Carolina Ballot

Posted on by June 7, 2008
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South Carolina permits fusion for all office. For president, South Carolina has used fusion in 1972 (when George McGovern was listed as the Democratic nominee and the United Citizens nominee) and in 1996 (when Ross Perot was listed as the Reform nominee and the Patriot nominee).

In 2008, it is possible that Barack Obama might be listed four times. He is almost certain to be the nominee of the Democratic, Working Families, and United Citizens Parties. The Independence Party is also considering nominating him. If this happens, it would be the first time in the history of government-printed ballots that any presidential candidate was listed as the nominee of four parties.

The last time any presidential nominee was listed as many as three times in any state was in New York in 2000, when Al Gore was listed as the nominee of the Democratic, Liberal, and Working Families Parties.

False Alarm: Washington State Libertarian Has Opponent After All

Posted on by June 6, 2008
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According to the Washington Secretary of State’s webpage, the only candidate who filed for State Rep., 37th district, place 2, is Ruth Bennett of the Libertarian Party. The Secretary of State’s office is now closed, so it is impossible to verify for sure that the webpage is completely up-to-date. However, all day long, the office seems to have done a good job of posting candidates as they file. UPDATE: incumbent Eric Pettigrew’s name is now (as of 6 pm) listed on the webpage.

Last-Minute Washington State Filings

Posted on by June 6, 2008
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On Friday afternoon, June 6, a few more minor party candidates filed for Washington state office (see the post below about those who had filed earlier in the week). Will Baker of the Reform Party, and Duff Badgley of the Green Party, both filed for Governor. For state legislature, Ruth Bennett of the Libertarian Party filed.

A few candidates filed for state legislature with whimsical party preferences, including “Prefers Salmon Yoga Party” and also “Prefers Cut Taxes GOP Party” and “Prefers True Democrat Party.” Surprisingly, no candidates from any socialist party filed.