Constitutional law scholar Vikram Amar as this essay on Findlaw, on the California initiative to let each U.S. House district choose its own presidential elector. Backers of the initiative earlier said they cannot get the signatures in time for the initiative to be on the June 2008 primary ballot. Therefore, they hope to place it on the November 2008 ballot. The essay rebuts the idea that the initiative, if passed in November 2008, could go into effect in time for the 2008 electoral college process.

Here is a newspaper story about the December 20 hearing in U.S. District Court, in the federal government’s lawsuit against New York state for not replacing its lever voting machines. The judge wants the state to tell him by January 4 how it will comply with the Help America Vote Act, which outlawed lever voting machines.

Alan Keyes submitted fewer than 200 signatures to be on the Illinois Republican presidential primary. State law requires 3,000 signatures. But Illinois also says that all petitions are deemed valid unless someone challenges them.

Richard B. Mayers, a White Supremacist, challenged Keyes’ petitions. However, Mayers withdrew his own voter registration a few days before he filed the challenge. The Illinois State Board of Elections will determine on December 21, starting at 10:30 am, what to do about the Mayers’ challenge. Illinois law says only registered voters may challenge petitions.