Oregon "Top-Two" Initiative Fails to Qualify

On August 2, the Oregon Secretary of State said that the initiative to change Oregon’s system to the “top-two” method did not have enough valid signatures. Therefore, it will not appear on the November 2006 ballot. The proposal would have required all candidates for all partisan office (except president) to run on a single primary ballot in May. Then, in November, only the two highest vote-getters would have been able to be on the ballot. Thanks to Steve Rankin for this news.

Oregon “Top-Two” Initiative Fails to Qualify

On August 2, the Oregon Secretary of State said that the initiative to change Oregon’s system to the “top-two” method did not have enough valid signatures. Therefore, it will not appear on the November 2006 ballot. The proposal would have required all candidates for all partisan office (except president) to run on a single primary ballot in May. Then, in November, only the two highest vote-getters would have been able to be on the ballot. Thanks to Steve Rankin for this news.

Washington State Voter Registration Procedure Enjoined

On August 1, U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo Martinez, a Bush Jr. appointee, enjoined a new Washington state law concerning voter registration. The Washington law prevents any new voter registration form from being processed, if the information on the form does not match the Social Security Administration’s database or the state drivers license database. Washington Ass’n of Churches v Reed, C06-00726, Seattle.

Pennsylvania Democrats Will Challenge Green Petition

On August 2, the state chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party said that the Democrats will challenge the Green statewide petition. This is only the second time in the last 60 years that any minor party or statewide petition has been challenged in Pennsylvania; the first time was in 2004, when Democrats challenged Nader’s independent petition.