A debate was held for the three Connecticut gubernatorial candidates on October 18, although only the Democratic Party and Independent Party nominees attended. The Republican nominee did not attend. See this story.
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A West Virginia state trial court will hear a case on October 21, on whether to remove an independent State Senate candidate from the November 8 ballot. The challenge says that independent candidate Harry “Lee” Forbes is not eligible because he lives in Summers County. He is running in the Tenth District, which has two state senators. One of these seats is up this year, and the other is not. West Virginia has a unique election law relating to two-member legislative districts. It says both the office-holders must not live in the same county.
Because the incumbent whose term is not up this year already lives in Summers County, the lawsuit says Forbes should not have been put on the ballot, and that he should be removed. It is quite unusual for anyone to expect a court to remove someone from a general election ballot as late as October 21. The ballots would need to be reprinted. See this story.
On October 14, U.S. District Court Judge John J. Tharp, an Obama appointee, enjoined a new Illinois law that makes it illegal for out-of-state persons to contribute anything to the campaign of a judicial candidate. Chancey v Illinois State Board of Elections, n.d., 1:22cv-4043. Here is the opinion. Thanks to the Institute for Free Speech for the link.
On Friday, October 14, the Wyoming Joint Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions Committee defeated 23LSO-0192, a proposal for a top-four system, in which parties would no longer have nominees, except for presidential electors.
The Wyoming legislature is not in session, but many committees are holding interim hearings. If the top-four measure had received support from the committee, then the committee would have become the sponsor of the bill in the 2023 session.
On October 17, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Fitisemanu v U.S., 21-1394, the case over the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment’s citizenship clause and the status of persons born in American Samoa.