The Deputy Speaker of the Russian Duma has suggested that Alaska hold a referendum on whether it should leave the United States and possibly become part of Russia. See this Newsweek story. Thanks to Mark Seidenberg for the link.
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On July 7, the First Circuit issued an opinion in We the People PAC v Bellows, 21-1149. The U.S. District Court in 2020 had enjoined Maine’s ban on out-of-state circulators for initiative petitions. The First Circuit agreed that the injunction was proper. Although the ban has not yet been declared unconstitutional, it virtually has been. Here is the Opinion. The First Circuit had held oral argument on this case in July 2021. Thanks to Eric Wong for this news.
On June 14, Maine held a special election for State Senate, 7th district. The results: Democratic 63.44%; Republican 35.44%; Green 1.12%.
When this same seat had been up in November 2020, the results had been: Democratic 55.02%; Republican 44.98%.
Venerable news station WSFA 12, of Montgomery, Alabama, has this story news about the Libertarian Party being the first third party on the ballot in Alabama since 2002.
This story by the National Public Radio Station in Charlotte, North Carolina, describes (at the end of the article) the July 1 hearing that invalidated the Green Party’s petition for ballot access. As the story recounts, the party’s attorney asked whether the Board had any evidence that any of the signatures validated by the County Election Boards were faulty. The chair of the Board refused to answer. When the attorney asked again, the Board muted him (it was a zoom meeting). No other news source had carried this detail. Here is the story.