Montana State Senator John Cobb has introduced SB 117, to protect candidates who are told they won a close election, and who are then sued by the loser. Under existing law, when that happens, and the recount reverses the outcome, the original “winner” must pay all the court costs associated with the recount.

The bill, if passed, would be retroactive to cover the 2004 election, so would spare Rick Jore the need to repay $18,000. Jore is the Constitution Party’s only state legislator in the nation. He appeared to have won his 2004 election as a Constitution Party nominee, but after the 2004 election, the Montana Supreme Court had ruled that six of his votes were too unclear to count, and therefore he just barely lost the 2004 election. Sympathy for his plight probably helped him win over that same opponent in November 2006.

Senator Cobb says Jore did not ask him to introduce SB 117. The bill was Cobb’s idea.

Current West Virginia law says party columns on the November ballot should be in order of how many votes each party polled for president in the last election. Although Democrats won the most votes for president in West Virginia in all elections 1976-1996 (except 1984), Republicans won the most votes for president in West Virginia starting in 2000. Two Democratic Delegates have just introduced a bill to change the law. HB 2172 would say that parties should be on the ballot in order of how many registered voters they have. There are almost twice as many registered Democrats as registered Republicans in West Virginia. The bill is authored by James Morgan (D-Huntington) and Michael Caputo (D-Fairmont).

The Wisconsin legislature is probably going to pass a package of bills that will dissolve the State Elections Board. In its place will be a Government Accountability Board, composed of six retired or reserve judges.

Wisconsin has been one of a handful of states in which state election law decisions are made by a bi-partisan body, with particular members representing one of the major parties. Other such states are Illinois, Indiana, New York, and North Carolina. Representation on the Wisconsin Board has been available to any party which polled 10% for Governor, so during the period 2003-2007 there were three parties on the Wisconsin Board (Democratic, Republican and Libertarian). But last month the Board reverted to a bi-partisan body, because no minor party polled 10% for Wisconsin Governor in 2006.