| Page 6418

9th Circuit Refuses to Rule on Arizona Clean Elections Law

Posted on May 18, 2007 by Richard WingerMay 18, 2007

On May 9, the 9th circuit issued an opinion in Association of American Physicians & Surgeons v Brewer, over the constitutionality of Arizona’s Clean Elections Law. The 9th circuit said the case is moot. It had been filed in 2002 by Congressman Matt Salmon, who was that year’s Republican nominee for Governor. The lawsuit charged that some aspects of the public funding law are unfair to candidates who choose not to use public funding. The 9th circuit said since the candidate-plaintiffs had not alleged they will run again, and since the Association of American Physicians & Surgeons (another co-plaintiff) no longer has any election activity in Arizona, there is no longer any active controversy.

Michigan Republican Party Says It Isn't Petitioning to Ban Ron Paul

Posted on May 18, 2007 by adminMay 18, 2007

When one telephones the Michigan Republican Party headquarters, the people who answer the phones say that Republican Party chair Saul Anuzis is not asking the Republican National Committee to bar Ron Paul from future presidential debates.

Michigan Republican Party Says It Isn’t Petitioning to Ban Ron Paul

Posted on May 18, 2007 by Richard WingerMay 18, 2007

South Dakota Outlaws Out-of-State Circulators?

Posted on May 18, 2007 by Richard WingerMay 18, 2007

Before the South Dakota legislature adjourned this year, it passed HB1156, which makes it illegal for petition circulators to work, unless they are “residents” of South Dakota. The bill passed 67-1 in the House and 30-5 in the Senate, and had been signed into law on March 3. Ballot Access News had failed to notice this bill. The new law applies to those who circulate petitions “for the purpose of placing candidates or issues on any election ballot.” This is ambiguous, since it doesn’t specifically include petitions to create a new party. Petitions to create a new party do not list any candidates. Another ambiguity is “resident.” “Resident” and “domicile” are different. “Domicile” is a person’s true home, the place he or she always intends to return to someday. In law, a person may have only one domicile. By contrast, individuals may have many residences.

HB1156 also outlaws paying initiative circulators on a per-signature basis. That part of the bill does not apply to petitions to create a new party, or for an independent candidate.

Zogby New Hampshire Post-Debate Poll

Posted on May 17, 2007 by Richard WingerMay 17, 2007

On May 17, Zogby Polls released results of a Republican presidential poll taken May 15 and 16. 500 Republicans in New Hampshire were sampled. The results: Romney 35%, Giuliani 19%, McCain 19%, undecided 11%, Fred Thompson 6%, Paul 3%, Hagel 1%, Brownback 1%, Tancredo 1%, Tommy Thompson 1%. Huckabee, Gilmore and Hunter were all under 1%. The Zogby site for this poll is here. Thanks to Politics1 for this news.