Colorado Governor Vetoes Bill That Restricted Initiative Circulators

Posted on by June 2, 2008
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On May 30, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, a Democrat, vetoed HB 1406. The bill would have imposed restrictions on initiative petitioners. It would have banned paid circulators who are not residents of Colorado. It also would have required paid circulators to give an accurate explanation of the initiative they are circulating. Governor Ritter said he believes it would violate the U.S. Constitution to have different rules for paid circulators than for unpaid circulators. It is very unusual for Democratic Governors to be more supportive of the initiative process than a state legislature as a whole. Generally, when bills restricting the initiative process are vetoed, it is Republican Governors who veto them. HB 1406 had been introduced in April and had passed the legislature on May 6. Thanks to Ballotpedia for this news.

New California Registration Data; Democratic and Reform Parties Are Only Parties on Upswing

Posted on by June 2, 2008
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The California Secretary of State has released registration data for the May 19 tally. It shows these percentages: Democratic 43.75%, Republican 32.53%, American Independent 2.06%, Green .75%, Libertarian .49%, Peace & Freedom .35%, Reform .19%, other and independent 19.88%.

By contrast, the January 22, 2008 tally showed: Democratic 42.95%, Republican 33.28%, American Independent 2.09%, Green .81%, Libertarian .51%, Peace & Freedom .36%, Reform .17%, other and independent 19.82%.

The only parties that increased their share are the Democratic Party and the Reform Party (the Reform Party is not on the California ballot but the Secretary of State still keeps track of its registrants). The gain for the Reform Party is due to a very large increase in Ventura County, and a substantial gain in Santa Clara County. In most counties the party lost registrants. The Secretary of State’s figures for all tallies this year show “zero” Reform Party registrants in Sacramento County, which is an obvious mistake. The Secretary of State’s office blames Sacramento County for this error.