Posted by Russell Daniels on May 16, 2021 at 9:32 PM
written by Robert Robb for the Arizona Republic
The Arizona Republican Party has election validity problems of its own. The results of the election of state officers at the January state meeting have been disputed. Skeptics circulated a petition calling for a redo. Party officials, chosen by virtue of the election being disputed, said that an insufficient number of signatures had been collected. Skeptics went to court, asking a judge to decide otherwise and order that another election meeting be held.
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Posted by Russell Daniels on May 14, 2021 at 12:01 PM
written by Daniel Pearson (PRO) & Abraham Gutman (CON) for the Philadelphia Inquirer
Pennsylvania’s next primary election is Tuesday, May 18, with statewide judicial and Philadelphia district attorney candidates on the ballot. Our state is one of just nine with closed primaries, meaning only registered Democrats and Republicans can weigh in on their respective partisan races, and independents just get a say on the ballot questions. State Rep. Chris Quinn (R., Delaware County) has introduced legislation to open primaries to the nearly 900,000 independent and nonpartisan voters in the state, but that wouldn’t open primaries for those already registered to a party.
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Posted by Russell Daniels on May 14, 2021 at 11:19 AM
written by Scott Maxwell for the Orlando Sentinel
Florida lawmakers say they’re sick of big money corrupting politics. So they passed a law that makes it a crime for anyone to give more than $3,000 to a political committee. Except not all political committees. Just the ones working to get issues like smaller class sizes or a higher minimum wage on Florida ballots. Lawmakers’ own political committees can still accept unlimited cash.
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Posted by Russell Daniels on May 14, 2021 at 10:14 AM
written by Leslie Harlow for the Mt. Desert Islander
To the Editor:
As a 50-year active Democrat in Hancock County and chair of the Ellsworth Democratic Committee, I am writing in enthusiastic support of LD 231, the semi-open primaries bill co-sponsored by Ellsworth Representative Nicole Grohoski.
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Posted by Russell Daniels on May 06, 2021 at 11:54 PM
written by Brian Klaas for The Washington Post
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is in the headlines. House Republicans are poised to remove her from her leadership position in the Republican caucus. Her sin? Breaking ranks with fellow Republicans and voting to hold former president Donald Trump accountable for inciting violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
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Posted by Russell Daniels on May 06, 2021 at 10:11 AM
written by Shawn Hubler for the New York Times
LOS ANGELES — Arnold Schwarzenegger settled into a big leather rocker recliner on the back patio of his mansion. His tiny rescue dog, Cherry, scampered at his feet, wearing a butterfly bow.
On his lawn, his miniature donkey, Lulu, was making a break for the hedges. His miniature horse, Whiskey, loitered near a marble bust of Abraham Lincoln. His bar held a dollhouse-size replica of the tank he had driven during a stint in the Austrian Army. A biofuel Hummer was in the driveway. A nine-foot scale model of the Statue of Liberty stood in the foyer. Things were either very large or very small.
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Posted by Russell Daniels on May 06, 2021 at 9:52 AM
originally appeared in the Penobscot Bay Pilot
AUGUSTA — Today, Open Primaries Maine announced that dozens of former legislators have endorsed L.D. 231, the semi-open primaries bill sponsored by Sen. Chloe Maxmin, D-Lincoln.
Under current Maine law, the 32% of Maine voters who are unenrolled — often referred to as independent — are prohibited from participating in taxpayer funded primary elections.
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Posted by Russell Daniels on May 06, 2021 at 9:27 AM
written by Shawn Griffiths for IVN
The movement to take control of primaries out of the hands of political parties is growing. However, nonpartisan primary systems are only in place in a few states, and the only nonpartisan system in the South, Louisiana’s primary, is being targeted by partisan insiders. Fortunately, a bill that would have closed congressional primaries in the state was just dropped by its sponsor.
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Posted by Russell Daniels on May 05, 2021 at 6:46 PM
written by Sam Karlin for The Advocate
A state senator has dropped a bid to change Louisiana’s unique jungle primary system for congressional races in favor of closed party primaries, shelving an issue that has created sharp public divisions between some of the state’s leading Republicans.
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Posted by Russell Daniels on April 30, 2021 at 10:28 AM
written by Scott Bomboy for the Press Herald
On May 18, 2021, Pennsylvania voters head to the polls for municipal primary elections, except for nearly 1.3 million registered taxpayers barred from casting ballots. And I am one of that group — an independent voter.
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