The Alaska Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) has just started circulating an initiative, for public funding for candidates for state office. The initiative does not discriminate for or against any candidate based on party affiliation. The text of the initiative can be seen here. The non-discriminatory aspect of the Alaska initiative matches the non-discriminatory characteristic of the existing “Clean Elections” laws in Maine and Arizona, but is in contrast to Connecticut’s law.
Last week, the Alaska Democratic Party decided to hold its presidential caucuses in 2008 on February 5. A few days later, the Alaska Republican Party also chose February 5. The parties announced this news on May 30. The local caucuses on February 5 will select delegates to a state convention. The state conventions of each major party will then choose the national delegates. The Democratic state convention will be May 23-25 and the Republican state convention will be March 13-15.
In the past, Alaska Republicans have held their local presidential caucuses in May, and Alaska Democrats have held theirs in March.
On May 29, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue signed HB 487. It moves the presidential primary from March to February 5.
On May 24, the city council of Cary, North Carolina, voted 4-3 to use Instant-Runoff Voting for its city council elections on October 9. Four seats are up, two district and two at-large.
Cary’s official slogan is “The Technology Town of North Carolina.” It is near Raleigh. The town is responding to a bill passed last year that permits any ten cities or counties use IRV to elect their own officials. Cary expects to save $62,000, since it will not need to hold an old-fashioned run-off in November 2007.
As has been noted, the Illinois Senate had earlier passed a bill drastically easing ballot access for minor party candidates as well as fixing the constitutional infirmities with independent candidate ballot access. But the House had passed a bill that only fixes the constitutional problems with independent candidate ballot access. It is looking increasingly likely that the House approach will prevail.
The Illinois legislature is foolish not to fix problems with minor party ballot access. Existing law says the nominee of an unqualified party, and an independent, running for US House, needs only 5,000 signatures in years following redistricting. But in all other years, they need a petition of 5% of the last vote cast, which is sometimes as high as 14,000 or 15,000 signatures. It is likely that a new lawsuit will be filed, arguing that if 5,000 signatures is enough in years ending in the digit “2”, then there can be no strong state interest in having almost triple that number of signatures in other election years.
