Quinnipiac University Poll for Virginia Gubernatorial Race

On October 23, Quinnipiac University Polls released a new gubernatorial poll for Virginia. The results: McAuliffe 46%, Cuccinelli 39%, Sarvis 10%, write-in someone else 1%, undecided 4%.

The poll is interesting because it breaks down the results by age, race, party affiliation, sex, and income. 78% of the voters say they don’t know enough about Sarvis to have an opinion about him. The final debate, which excludes him, is October 24, although there is a 3-candidate forum on October 28. Thanks to Political Wire for the link.

Texas Government Photo-ID Law Forces State Judge to Vote Provisionally

Texas is holding a statewide election on November 5 for various ballot measures, and early voting is in process. According to this story, Sandra Watts, an elected local judge, was forced to cast a provisional ballot when she tried to vote. The name on her voter registration record is her first name, the middle name she was given at birth, and her surname, which is also her husband’s surname. But her Texas drivers license shows her maiden name as her middle name. When she married in 1964, Texas law required women to list their maiden name as their middle name.

She has had the same name on her voter registration record for almost half a century, and she has not moved in over twenty years, but because the name on her drivers license is not a perfect match with her name on the voter registration records, the Texas photo-ID law prevented her from casting a normal ballot. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.

Ohio Bill to Put Choice of Political Party, or Independent Status, on Voter Registration Forms

On October 16, two Ohio Representatives introduced HB 305, which would change voter registration forms. Current Ohio forms do not ask the applicant to choose a party, or to choose independent status. The bill would put that question on voter registration forms.

The bill may have been introduced to clear up the ongoing ambiguity in Ohio election law over who can qualify as an independent candidate. Current law says an independent candidate is anyone who submits a valid petition and who does not consider himself or herself a member of a qualified party. But Ohio courts have made a muddle of this law, and have established precedents that the way to determine if someone considers himself or herself an independent is to delve into the candidate’s behavior and associations.

If the bill passed, it would take effect January 1, 2017. The voter registration form would include a blank line, for the purpose of letting a voter register into a party that had not been qualified when that form had been printed. However, it appears the authors of the bill did not intend to let voters register into unqualified parties. The bill does not address whether a qualified party that goes off the ballot still retains its registered members, nor does it address whether parties can choose to invite registered independents to vote in its primaries.

The bill would require a candidate in a primary to have registered into that particular party at least 30 days before the deadline to get on the primary ballot. Voters could change party affiliation at any time, except that they could not change party membership at the polls on primary day or within 30 days of a primary. Someone who wants to be an independent candidate could apparently switch to independent status the very day of filing the independent candidate petition. If this bill were enacted, it would clearly make it easier for anyone to qualify as an independent candidate. The authors of the bill are Representative Paul Becker (R-Union Township) and Representative Ron Hood (R-Ashville).

The bill would make it somewhat more difficult for an individual to get on a primary ballot, because the only individuals who could sign a primary petition would be registered members of that party. Currently, a primary petition can be signed by individuals who didn’t vote in the last primary or individuals who voted in the last primary in that same party, which is a bigger pool of potential signers. Here is the text of the bill. Thanks to Kevin Knedler for the news about the bill.

CBS TV Station in Richmond, Virginia, Covers Astrid Sarvis Video on Debate Rules

Channel 6 in Richmond, Virginia, has this story about Astrid Sarvis’ you tube, which talks about her husband’s exclusion from the October 24 debate. Especially interesting is the information that the two major party candidates had said they had to know who was in that debate two weeks beforehand, so they could properly prepare. As Rob Sarvis says in the story, he certainly wouldn’t need two weeks advance notice to get ready, if he were to be included.