On September 27, a Superior Court in Alameda County, California, ruled that Berkeley’s Measure R must be placed on the ballot in November 2008. It had been on the ballot in November 2004 and had been defeated by a very narrow margin. When backers of the initiative asked for a recount, it turned out that the data inside the electronic vote-counting equipment had already been deleted. The court ruled that due process requires that since a recount could not be done, the initiative must have another chance.

According to this newspaper story, the proposed initiative to provide that each California U.S. House district choose its own elector has started circulating. Democrats have denounced it loudly, but no Democrat seems to suggest that Democrats might circulate similar initiatives in “red” states. 17 states that voted for George W. Bush in both 2000 and 2004 have the initiative process, including Florida and Ohio. The 17 states have a combined total of 130 electoral votes.

The September 27 New York Times has this op-ed by regular columnist Gail Collins, severely criticizing the national Democratic Committee for stripping Florida of all its delegates. Collins also ridicules the leading Democratic presidential candidates for promising not to campaign in Florida between October 1 and February 1, except to attend fund-raisers. See it here.