California Independent Redistricting Commission Begins Work; New York Legislature Lags

INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING

• Commission looks at new boundaries (By Brian Bullock, Santa Maria Times - CA) This week, California is beginning a process to draw up “non-partisan” district boundaries with the first public hearings held by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission. … The commission was formed after voters passed Proposition 11 in 2008 and Proposition 20 in 2010, which transferred authority of establishing district boundaries from elected representatives to an independent commission.
• Sampson Pushes Senate Republicans On Redistricting, Ethics (Posted by: Joseph Spector, Politics on the Hudson) Senate Minority Leader John Sampson, D-Brooklyn, called on Senate Republicans today to abide by their pledge for ethics reform and independent redistricting, saying they are going back on their commitment last year to the New York Uprising group.
• POLL: Cuomo is Budget Winner Say Voters, as His Ratings Go Higher; After Budget, Voters Feel Better About Legislature, Not its Leaders (SIENA RESEARCH INSTITUTE, Steven Greenberg) “Nearly three-quarters of voters view Cuomo favorably, including two-thirds of Republicans and independents, and his favorability rating is nearly identical in New York City, the downstate suburbs and in upstate,” Greenberg said. “His job performance rating is the same among Democrats and Republicans, 56-40 percent, while independents are nearly evenly divided at 49-47 percent. And by a nearly seven-to-one margin, voters say Cuomo was a winner as a result of the budget, including at least 59 percent of voters from every party and region.”

Open Primaries: Lost Identities?

California anticipates the new open primary next week in special elections. NY State legislature say No to popular vote.

 

PROP 14

• Clock ticking in run for 28th California state senate seat - Issues of identity may hurt some hopefuls. (By Eric Bradley, Press Telegram - Long Beach) California's long-standing special election rules will list all eight candidates on a single ballot. However, under Proposition 14, passed by voters in June, if no candidate wins a majority, the top two vote-getters regardless of party advance to a runoff on April 19. Faced with the formidable Lieu, some candidates are hoping simply to survive past February, relying on the crowded field of candidates to dilute the vote enough to get to a runoff -- where they contend they have a better opportunity to win.
• Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif., Lisa Vorderbrueggen column (Trading Markets) In the June 2012 open primary, election clerks will be able to send every voter an identical ballot card without regard to party affiliation. Depending on the rules each party adopts with respect to who may vote for the presidential nominees, voters will receive a second ballot card. If the central committees remain on the ballot, election clerks must then send a third, distinct card based on party registration.

BALLOT ACCESS

• Another South Dakota Bill to Move Independent Candidate Petition Deadline from June to April (Ballot Access News) 

PENNSYLVANIA

• After independent switch, Kantner first Schuylkill County row officer not a Democrat or Republican (BY BEN WOLFGANG, Republican Herald) Two weeks ago, the incumbent ditched the Democratic Party, became an independent, and is now gearing up for a potential three-way November General Election. 

NEW YORK

• Pigeon set to take role in election reform effort - Golisano targeting electoral college (By Robert J. McCarthy, Buffalo News) Pigeon also was associated with Golisano’s Responsible New York political committee, which spent $4.4 million on legislative contests around the state in 2008. Seven states have passed legislation in recent years that would accomplish exactly what Golisano is seeking, according to Patrick Rosensteil, spokesman for National Popular Vote, an advocacy group with no connection to Golisano.  

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Open primary sytem is a good idea (Contra Costa Times) Passage of Proposition 11, creating a bipartisan panel to draw legislative districts, is a step in the right direction.
• Prop. 11 support signals voters' mood for reforms (LA Times)
• Daniel Weintraub: Prop. 11 paves the way for more reform (Sac Bee)
• New California political landscape comes into focus (PolitickerCA.com) "The Democrats allow independents to participate in their primaries and the Republicans don't," Gerston said. "An open primary might be a way for Republicans to draw more independents back into their fold."
• Some surprises on election day (Southside Pride - MN) One way to avoid electing people to office with less than a majority of votes would be to have open primaries with the top two going to the general election.
• Backers see more competitive state Senate, Assembly races (San Diego Union Tribune) Maybe California voters finally figured it out, the purported wisdom of having someone other than legislators draw the districts in which they run for office.

ELECTION FALLOUT

• Political World's On Joe Watch (The Hartford Courant) "We'd be happy to have Sen. Lieberman caucus with the Democrats. We don't hold any grudges," said Stephanie Cutter, a spokeswoman for the Obama transition team.
• Response from a “far right shrieker” (Perham Enterprise Bulletin & New York Mills Herald - MN)
• The GOP Must Change or Die (The Daily Beast)
• Wick to organize third party (Town Times/zwire - CT)
• Jackie Salit on the Election (Marcia Ford, We the Purple)
• 18 Million Independents Vote for Barack Obama (The Independent View)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

REFORM

• Open the Debates! (Diary Entry by David Barboza, OpEdNews) Americans should denounce our debate inclusion criteria for what they are: a partisan sham.
• Voter is restricted in primary contest: Open primaries needed (Tulsa Beacon LETTER)
• OSU political expert to talk about election (Corvallis Gazette-Times) Bill Lunch says “If [Measure 65] passes it will not make the system less polarized, but more so,” he said. He said he’ll spend more time explaining Measure 65 than any of the other measures.
• Don't cross over when you vote: Stay on one side of the ballot from top to bottom (Pacific Daily News) Guam voters face voided ballots if they vote across party lines in primary
• Child's play (Press Democrat Santa Rosa CA) this year's performance [by the State Legislature] is one more good reason to support Proposition 11, which would strip state legislators of the ability to draw their own districts. The next good step would be restoring the open primary, so legislators truly could be held accountable at the polls.
• A brand new system: It's popular and it works - WA Top Two (Tri-City Herald/Mid-Columbia news) Herald reporter Chris Mulick said that the survey of 500 voters, conducted Aug. 22 through Aug. 24, indicated 71 percent preferred the top two while just 20 percent preferred the pick-a-party primary.
• Editorial: Open Primary offers opportunity for meaningful votes (Post Bulletin Rochester MN) because Minnesota has an open primary, you don't have to be a member of a political party to participate.

CAMPAIGN

• Obama, McCain vie for ‘reformist’ mantle (Kansas City Star) With the back-to-back conventions over, the fall race for the presidency took off Friday in states teeming with the independent voters each needs to win the White House.
• Zogby: McCain-Palin Got 'Small Bounce' After Minn. (By: Newsmax)
• Are Evangelicals Really Sold on Palin? (Time) But with fewer than 60 days until Election Day (and a month before the start of early voting in many states), the McCain campaign's continued courting of the more traditional base spells trouble for any efforts to expand his appeal to independent voters and less conservative Evangelicals.
• Historic White House race enters final stretch (AP/Houston Chronicle)
• Debate schedule (SF Gate)
• Keep the change (Trenton Times Editorial) McCain's call for an end to the "constant partisan rancor" was ludicrous. Unless, of course, he was speaking directly to his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and the former foes he'd assembled the night before to mock, deride and dismiss the Democratic ticket on his behalf.
• EDITORIAL: Stealing Obama's rhetoric (Washington Times/AP) In the blink of an eye, the party of national security, limited government and family values has become the party of "reform."
• E. J. Dionne Jr. Straight talker's convention was full of derision-It's sort of hard to come away from that thinking "nonpartisanship." (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
• An Apostle of Alaska - We know the outlines—the moose-hunting mom who juggles BlackBerrys and kids. But what does she believe? The real Sarah Palin. (NEWSWEEK)
• Will they ever get it right? (Conservative Republican Discussion forums by Dacabeti, Christian Conservative Pitbull) I am so tired of hearing about Obama being the first black Presidential Candidate. Or Hillary being the first women to get serious consideration.

NEW YORK POLITICS

• Queens Councilmembers Liu, Comrie support overturning term limits (Queens Times Ledger) HINT: This is not a good thing! Do New York City politicians REALLY think they can get away with this because Bloomberg is leaving office? Yes, they really do. Apparently they didn't take the black and independent alliance seriously! - NH
• POLITICS & POWER: LI McCain backer gets his due (Rick Brand, NY Newsday) Boyle's immediate job will be to help McCain lock up the backing of the national Independence Party that state and Suffolk party leader Frank MacKay originally organized for New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg's now-scotched presidential bid. HINT: Who will be the highest bidder for the corrupted state Independence Party of New York??? Democrats -- ponie up or you might be out of luck in upstate New York!!! - NH

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• CUIP Wins the Right to Intervene in Idaho Republican Case (Ballot Access News) Independents have legal standing as defendants in effort to exclude independents from primary
• Democrats gain ground, but GOP still rules in AZ (Arizona Star) And the number and share of those not interested in affiliating with any of the recognized parties went up by nearly 94,000. They now total more than 27.1 percent of eligible voters, and they will be eligible to vote in Tuesday's primary, under a state law that allows them to select which party's primary they want to participate in.

REFORM
Gerrymandering a key culprit in California budget mess-Proposition 11, which would strip the Legislature of its power to draw state Senate and Assembly district lines, is desperately needed. (George Skelton, Capitol Journal, LA Times)


THIRD PARTY NEWS

• Alaskan Independence Party Does Well in Blanket Primary (Ballot Access News)
• What happened to Pat in 2000?-Third Partyism (NorCal Council of Concervative Citizens) Russ Verney once chaired the New Hampshire Democratic Party and secretary Jim Mangia was a (albeit fairly moderate and low-key) gay-rights activist..... He also should have not have gotten involved with Lenora Fulani.
• Fuuniest News of the Election Season (Riley Dad's Weblog) In 1988, the Democratic and Republican Parties missed a similar Indiana deadline. Lenora Fulani sued the State Election Board to force the Board to enforce the deadline.... This year, the Texas Libertarian Party and Bob Barr are the only ballot-listed presidential candidates on the Texas ballot, so the Texas Libertarian Party could, if it wished, bring a lawsuit. However, the result of the lawsuit would probably be to get the deadline declared unconstitutional; no court would order that Obama and McCain be kept off the ballot.

CAMPAIGN
Golisano Goes National, Backs Obama (NY Daily News/Daily Politics)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

REFORM

• New era unfolds in congressional races (Concordia Sentinel - LA) Along the way, or in the past few years, activists in the Democratic and Republican parties decided they preferred returning to closed primary elections
• It's time to rethink California's defective constitution (Mercury News) e've passed more than 500 adjustments since our constitution's adoption in 1879 (compared with 27 changes in the U.S. Constitution), but these piecemeal efforts have failed to make California more governable.
• Democrats Need Not Fear Prop 11 on Redistricting—In Fact, Many Are Supporting It (California Progress Report)
• Proposition 11: Fake Redistricting Reform Brought to you by Governor Schwarzenegger and his Wrong-Wing Republican Gang (California Progress Report)
• Reforming redistricting: Let independent citizens draw the lines (Capitol Weekly)

CAMPAIGN
Young Religious Voters Notable Player in Swing States (Christian Post Reporter)

LOCAL INDEPENDENT NEWS
OK: Independents gaining in areas, but voting opportunities limited (TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

REFORM

• California redesigns voter registration card (San Jose Mercury News)
• Disenfranchisement of black voters (Hudson Valley Press)
• Ballot proposal worries Dems-Lawmakers' concerns grow over their party's role in controversial state reform initiative. (Gordon Trowbridge / Detroit News Washington Bureau)
• Michigan Power Grab (Wall Street Journal)
• Proposition 11 supporters gather money, poll backing (Politicker CA)

THIRD PARTY NEWS
Third-party candidates face deadline for WV ballot (West Virginia Public Radio) Bob Barr on the ballot in 48 states