New Jersey: State fights back over special election | Courier-Post

Gov. Chris Christie’s administration fought back Tuesday against Democrats who are trying to get a court to move the special U.S. Senate election from the October date he chose to the same day as the November general election. The state filed papers asserting that Christie was within his legal rights to schedule the election when he did, and that changing course now would be damaging. “The harms that will flow from the stay that they seek significantly outweigh any purported harms resulting from its denial,” the state government’s lawyers said in the filing with an appeals court Tuesday. The next step in the case will likely be oral arguments, which have not been scheduled.

New Jersey: Judges Weigh Christie’s Call for New Jersey Special Election | Wall Street Journal

A New Jersey appeals court is mulling the merits of a last-minute legal challenge to Gov. Chris Christie’s call for a U.S. Senate special election this October, even as the race for the seat last held by the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg has quickly taken shape. A three-judge panel is expected to decide soon how to proceed with a legal filing that asks for the interim senator to be selected during the state’s regular election on Nov. 5, rather than by holding a special election on Oct. 16, as requested by Mr. Christie. Both sides in the case concluded filing briefs Wednesday. The Appellate Division has yet to announce whether it will hold oral arguments for the case. The governor said he wants the special election to be held to allow voters to fill the seat as soon as possible. In November, all state lawmakers are up for election, including Mr. Christie. The Republican is seeking re-election against Democratic state Sen. Barbara Buono. Marguerite Schaffer, chairwoman of the Somerset County Democratic Party—and a Buono supporter—filed the case pro bono on Friday, arguing that the special election would confuse voters unaccustomed to voting on a Wednesday or just before a statewide election.

New Jersey: Christie defends special election to fill Lautenberg’s vacant U.S. Senate seat | The Political State | NorthJersey.com

Governor Christie stood by his decision to hold a special election to fill Frank Lautenberg’s U.S. Senate seat and said he doesn’t think the abbreviated election cycle benefits any one candidate. “If people want to sue, let them go to the courts, that’s what the courts are there for,” Christie said during a State House news conference. “And we’ll rise or fall on that basis, but I certainly have no second thoughts about it.” Peg Shaffer, the chairwoman of the Somerset County Democratic Committee, filed a legal challenge to the special election date Monday. The state Attorney General has until Tuesday to file a response with the Appellate Division. Holding a separate special election will cost about $12 million. In addition, Christie’s opponent in the November election, state Sen. Barbara Buono, D-Middlesex, is circulating a petition demanding Christie move the special election to November.

New Jersey: Legislation Introduced To Move November General Election To October | Politicker NJ

Senator Shirley K. Turner (D-Mercer/Hunterdon) has introduced legislation today to save taxpayers millions of dollars by changing this year’s November General election to coincide with the special election scheduled for October 16; the General election would revert back to November in 2014. Senator Turner also introduced a second bill to eliminate the option of a special election to fill vacancies in either house of Congress and require that individuals who receive temporary appointments to fill such vacancies be of the same political party as the person vacating the position. State law currently allows the governor to hold a special election or appoint an interim to fulfill the full term of the predecessor.

New Jersey: Appellate court: Democrat can proceed with lawsuit to reschedule Senate special election | NorthJersey.com

A county Democratic chairwoman can proceed with a lawsuit trying to have Governor Christie reschedule the special election to fill Frank Lautenberg’s U.S. Senate seat, a pair of appellate judges ruled Friday afternoon. August’s special election will cause “voter suppression and confusion” and cost the state millions of dollars, said Peg Schaffer, the chairwoman of the Somerset County Democratic Committee. She asked the courts for permission to file the suit earlier on Friday. Schaffer endorsed state Sen. Barbara Buono, D-Middlesex, Christie’s Democratic opponent in November’s gubernatorial election. But she said she wasn’t representing Buono in the lawsuit.

New Jersey: Democrats slam cost for special election | The Asbury Park Press

Taxpayers will have to spend an additional $11.9 million for an Oct. 16 special election to replace Sen. Frank Lautenberg, now that Gov. Chris Christie decided against consolidating the vote with the Nov. 5 general election. Democrats charged that the move was all about politics, noting that Christie is on the November ballot seeking his second four-year term as governor. Democrats said the Republican governor wanted to avoid sharing that ballot with a strong Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, such as Newark Mayor Cory Booker or Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., despite the extra expense to the taxpayers. Christie insisted politics was not a consideration in laying out the separate election dates. “The costs associated with having the special election and primary, in my mind, cannot be measured against the value of having an elected member of the U.S. Senate. I don’t know what the costs are and, quite frankly, I don’t care,” Christie said.

New Jersey: Why New Jersey is holding a Wednesday election | Washington Post

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Tuesday set an Oct. 16 special election to fill the vacancy created by the death of Sen. Frank Lautenberg. Oct. 16 is a Wednesday. Elections are usually held on a Tuesday. What gives? The election is happening on a Wednesday because it’s the soonest possible date it could be held under the writ Christie issued. State law holds that the primary be held 70-76 days after the writ Christie issued Tuesday, with a general election to follow 64-70 days after that.

New Jersey: Several mull run for U.S. Senate special election while Democrats consider challenging it | NorthJersey.com

Potential U.S. Senate candidates scrambled to muster support as Democrats considered a legal challenge to the special election Governor Christie set for October and questions grew about the $24 million price tag, with one lawmaker pushing to move up the November election. With the primary over and the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s funeral behind him, Christie will soon decide on his appointment for the vacant seat, sources close to the governor said Wednesday. During his Tuesday news conference announcing the special election, Christie indicated he wanted to have a replacement in Washington, D.C. next week when Congress debates immigration reform. A spokesman for Newark Mayor Cory Booker said volunteers were out collecting signatures Wednesday, but would not say whether the Democrat would announce a run. Only one person has formally declared his candidacy for the August primary – former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan, a conservative Republican. And some potential candidates have already taken themselves out of the running, Republican Sen. Tom Kean Jr. and Sen. Kevin O’Toole both said they are focused on winning reelection to their state offices. Democrats, meanwhile, are still exploring going to court to block the special election.

New Jersey: Chris Christie’s Catch-22 — and why he made the right (political) decision | Washington Post

To hear the political media tell it, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) made a stinker of a decision Tuesday by setting the state’s special Senate election for Oct. 16 rather than on the same day as the general election either this year or in 2014. But the decision was probably the best of three bad options for Christie. The Star-Ledger editorial board blasted Christie for a “self-serving stunt“, and it was joined in that criticism by several politicians — most of them Democrats. But as is often the case with Senate vacancies — this one created by the death of Democratic Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg — the controversy was probably unavoidable. Giving a governor carte blanche to interpret the law and make an interim appointment these days often ends poorly (see: Blagojevich, Rod; Paterson; David; and Abercrombie, Neil). In addition, New Jersey special election law put Christie in an especially unenviable position because it is highly contradictory and totally open to interpretation.

New Jersey: Christie Criticized for Cost and Timing of Senate Election | New York Times

Gov. Chris Christie announced on Tuesday a highly unusual special election that was immediately criticized for costing the state $24 million and setting up a schedule that was likely to confuse the voting public. Voters will go to the polls on a Wednesday in October to cast ballots for a new senator, then return just three weeks later for the regularly scheduled general election, in which Mr. Christie will stand for a second term. For Mr. Christie, a Republican who has cultivated an image as a tough-talking independent, the rapidly made choice represented a calculated risk — to endure short-term criticism from both Republicans and Democrats in order to protect his longer-term goals of winning re-election and positioning himself for a presidential run in 2016.

Colorado: Senate President John Morse and Colorado’s unique resignation angle | Recall Elections Blog

As mentioned earlier, the Colorado state Senate President John Morse recall runs into a unique provision (at least for recall states) that could allow the Democrats to keep the Morse seat without a recall. However, the provision requires some explanation: The trick would only works if Morse resigns before the recall is certified to go to the ballot, and a stray sentence might limit it even further. Here’s how it appears to work. Colorado’s Constitution (Article V section 2)  requires that any state legislative vacancy be filled by a “member of the same political party…” Colorado fills its vacant state legislate seats by appointment by the county committee, not by special election. Therefore, if there is a resignation, a Democrat must be selected to fill the seat. But timing the resignation is critical.

New Jersey: Christie calls special election for this fall, angering some Republicans | Los Angeles Times

Saying he wanted to give voters “a choice and a voice in the process,” New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie scheduled a special election in October to fill the seat vacated by the late Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, a move that risks worsening strained relations with national Republican activists, but which carries several political advantages for him at home. Republican strategists in Washington had hoped Christie would skip a special election and appoint a strong candidate who would fill the seat until the regularly scheduled 2014 election. That would give the appointee the advantage of incumbency and would have given Republicans their best chance to hold the seat in a heavily Democratic state. But Democrats were certain to go to court if Christie did not call an election this year, creating a battle as Christie runs for reelection. New Jersey law is ambiguous about how to fill vacancies in the state’s U.S. Senate seats, and a court might have overturned a decision to skip a special election.

Editorials: With special election decision, Christie helps himself too | NBC

In a decision with implications for his own re-election this fall, the next presidential campaign and the GOP in Washington, New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday called for a special election to be held this year to choose the successor to the late Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg. Christie announced at a press conference that he had opted against appointing a successor to Lautenberg to serve until the 2014 election, and scheduled a general election on Oct. 16. The primary will be held in August. Christie also said he would appoint an interim senator to serve between now and November, though he explained that he had not decided on that temporary appointee yet. With this decision, Christie is potentially helping create the conditions for a big win in his re-election contest against Democrat Barbara Buono this November.  Without a contested Senate campaign happening at the same time as his own re-election, turnout among Democrats is likely to be far lower, allowing Christie to run up the margin of victory in a race he is already a big favorite to win. That, in turn, could make him look like a more formidable presidential candidate in 2016 should he choose to run.

Alabama: Madison County Considering Costly Special Election In Effort To Save Money | WHNT

Many lawmakers believe counties could benefit by having one office do everything two offices do now when it comes to handling money. Madison County Chairman Dale Strong favors consolidating the tax collector’s and tax assessor’s office. First, a decision must be made about what to do and that will cost you money. Madison County has two offices affecting people’s wallets. One is the Tax Assessor’s. It is the keeper of records. It places value on property. The other is the Tax Collector’s. It gets your money.

New York: New York City Wants to Revive Old Voting Machines | New York Times

New York City has spent $95 million over the past few years to bring its election process into the 21st century, replacing its hulking lever voting machines with electronic scanners. But now, less than three years after the new machines were deployed, election officials say the counting process with the machines is too cumbersome to use them for the mayoral primary this year, and then for the runoff that seems increasingly likely to follow as soon as two weeks later. In a last-ditch effort to avoid an electoral embarrassment, the city is poised to go back in time: it is seeking to redeploy lever machines, a technology first put in place in the 1890s, for use this September at polling places across the five boroughs. The city’s fleet of lever machines was acquired in 1962 and has been preserved in two warehouses in Brooklyn, shielded from dust by plastic covers.

California: With election fatigue setting in, L.A. tees up another vote | Los Angeles Times

The races for mayor and other top city offices so underwhelmed Angelenos, fewer than one-fifth of registered voters bothered to cast ballots. So, why don’t we have another election in a couple of months? Say, July 23? I’m not kidding. Because no candidate for the 6th Council District seat earned more than 50% of the votes Tuesday, residents in the district will have to trudge back to the polls for the fourth time in nine months to choose a replacement for former Councilman Tony Cardenas. The office became vacant when Cardenas won a seat in Congress last November. The runoff will pit Cindy Montañez, who collected 43.5% of the votes, against Nury Martinez, who received 23.9%.

California: Counties seek election cost relief | Press-Enterprise

It’s been an expensive few months for counties holding special elections to fill legislative and congressional seats. And it’s not over yet. San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties have had two special ballots already to replace former state Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod, D-Chino, after her election to Congress in November. Now both counties will have to hold at least one, and probably two, special elections to replace Assemblywoman Norma Torres, who will be sworn in today as Negrete McLeod’s successor, in the 52nd Assembly District. Riverside, San Diego and Imperial counties had to put on a special election to replace former state Sen. Juan Vargas in the 40th Senate District. Fortunately for the counties’ coffers, then-Assemblyman Ben Hueso, D-San Diego, won the March 12 ballot outright, avoiding the need for a runoff. There are more special elections in the offing in San Diego, Los Angeles and the Central Valley. With each ballot costing around $1 million, counties are rallying around legislation sponsored by San Bernardino County that calls for state reimbursement of special election costs in 2012 and 2013.

North Carolina: Prepare for a Special Election in the Craziest-Shaped Congressional District in the Country | National Journal

President Obama’s decision to tap Rep. Melvin Watt, D-N.C., to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency ensures that, if confirmed, he will be playing a pivotal role in housing policy. But it also spotlights the awkwardly shaped congressional district he will be vacating, one of the most gerrymandered in the country. The district was originally drawn to connect scattered African-American precincts in towns from Gastonia 160 miles south to Raleigh-Durham. It now covers a smorgasbord of disconnected metropolitan areas, including parts of the cities of Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Lexington, Salisbury, and High Point.

Editorials: District should adopt instant-runoff elections | The Washington Post

Congratulations to D.C. Council member Anita Bonds (D) for winning Tuesday’s special at-large election and also to Elissa Silverman (D) for a strong showing as a first-time candidate. But the abysmal voter turnout that saw a winner supported by roughly 3 percent of eligible voters must prompt concern about how these elections are held. Not only does the District need to examine how to boost voter participation but it also should move to a system of instant-runoff voting. Ms. Bonds did not receive our backing in the campaign to serve the at-large council term vacated when Phil Mendelson (D) was elected chairman, but we hope she succeeds in meeting her election-night pledge to bring people together to help meet the city’s potential. It’s also clear from the way Ms. Silverman’s campaign resonated that she could have a political future, one that should be followed with interest. By contrast, prospects for the future of the local Republican Party appear dim with the third-place finish of GOP standard-bearer Patrick Mara.

Massachusetts: Special election activity suspended after bombings | CNN

Candidates in this month’s primaries for the special U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts announced they were suspending campaign activity Monday as authorities continue to investigate apparent bombings at the Boston Marathon. Rep. Ed Markey, the Democratic frontrunner, said he was “disturbed and saddened” by the explosions that left dozens injured and caused multiple deaths. “We all are grateful for the first responders who rushed to the scene to help the victims. The heart of the city is hanging heavy, and our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this senseless tragedy,” the longtime congressman, who represents Boston suburbs, said in a statement.

United Kingdom: Britain holds scandal-tarred special election | Deseret News

Sex, lies and scandal — not the usual ingredients of a parliamentary special election in Britain. But Thursday’s contest for the southern English constituency of Eastleigh has been overshadowed by the torrid trials of the centrist Liberal Democrats, including the criminal conviction of a former Cabinet minister and allegations of sexual harassment against a senior party official. The election was called to fill the seat vacated by ex-Energy Secretary Chris Huhne, who resigned earlier this month after admitting that, a decade ago, he had asked his wife to take a speeding ticket for him, even though he had been driving. He faces a possible jail term for perverting justice, and his high-flying political career is in ruins. The Liberal Democrats’ efforts to hang onto the seat have been hampered by accusations that former chief executive Chris Rennard inappropriately touched and propositioned several women in incidents dating back a decade.

National: Could Google tilt a close election? | The Washington Post

Google’s motto is “Don’t be evil.” But what would it mean for democracy if it was? That’s the question psychologist Robert Epstein has been asking in a series of experiments testing the impact of a fictitious search engine — he called it “Kadoodle” — that manipulated search rankings, giving an edge to a favored political candidate by pushing up flattering links and pushing down unflattering ones. Not only could Kadoodle sway the outcome of close elections, he says, it could do so in a way most voters would never notice. Epstein, who had a public spat with Google last year, offers no evidence of actual evil acts by the company. Yet his exploration of Kadoodle — think of it as the equivalent of Evil Spock, complete with goatee — not only illuminates how search engines shape individual choices but asks whether the government should have a role in keeping this power in check. “They have a tool far more powerful than an endorsement or a donation to affect the outcome,” Epstein said. “You have a tool for shaping government. . . . It’s a huge effect that’s basically undetectable.”

Venezuela: Date Set To Elect Chavez’s Successor | NPR

Venezuela’s elections commission announced Saturday that voters will go to the polls on April 14 to choose a successor to President Hugo Chavez, who died this week after a battle with cancer. The nation’s constitution mandated that an election be called within 30 days of Chavez’s death on March 5, but the scheduled date falls outside of that window. Nicolas Maduro, Chavez’s vice president, was sworn in as interim leader on Friday. Opposition coalition leader and state governor Henrique Capriles, who ran against Chavez in the October election, has disputed Maduro’s right to be interim leader. Capriles is expected to be the opposition candidate against Maduro in the special election, though many in his party are concerned about the vote’s fairness.

Massachusetts: Special election will cost Massachusetts at least $13.5 million, according to state officials | masslive.com

State officials say it is expected to cost Massachusetts at least $13.5 million to hold the special election to fill the U.S. Senate formerly held by Secretary of State John Kerry. State Auditor Suzanne Bump has estimated that it will cost cities and towns nearly $8.3 million to run the April 30 primary election and the June 25 final. The special election has been classified by the auditor’s office as an “unfunded local mandate,” meaning the state must reimburse local communities for the costs they incur.

Alabama: Lawmaker suggests changes to runoffs – TimesDaily.com

A north Alabama lawmaker is kicking an idea around Montgomery that could dramatically change the state’s election process. Rep. Mike Ball, R-Madison, said he’s researching and gathering opinions about discontinuing most party primary runoffs. He said he wants to file a bill to do so by the end of March. “We go to the polls an awful lot in Alabama,” Ball said last week. Ball said because of runoffs, which are six weeks after the primaries, almost an entire legislative session can go by without a district seat being filled. Case in point: Former Rep. Jeremy Oden’s seat representing a portion of Morgan, Cullman and Blount counties. Oden resigned late last year when he was appointed to the state Public Service Commission. If no primary runoff is required in the special election to replace Oden, a new representative will be elected March 26. But if a primary runoff were required, the special general election won’t occur until May 7. The legislative session will end somewhere around May 20.

California: Sticker shock: Siskiyou County clerk presents special election expenses | Siskiyou Daily News

Siskiyou County Clerk Colleen Setzer revealed at the Feb. 5 meeting of the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors that the Jan. 8 special election for District 4 State Senator cost the county over $100,000 – a very large expense for a rural county already struggling with severe cutbacks to its budget and a weak economy. Setzer appeared before the board primarily to present the certified election results for the board’s acceptance, but the election’s high price tag ultimately dominated the board’s discussion. Setzer told the board, “This was a special election, so six months of work was actually consolidated down into one month.” She said her office faced a long list of challenges in addition to the shortened time frame, including heavy snow, holiday scheduling conflicts and widespread staff illness. “We did it. We did it well. And I’m glad that it’s over,” she added.

Minnesota: District 19A special election is costly | The Free Press

State Rep. Terry Morrow’s resignation from the House and the Democratic Party’s tardiness in scheduling its endorsing convention could result in well over  $70,000 in unexpected costs to local governments. The Feb. 12 special election to fill Morrow’s vacant House District 19A seat and Tuesday’s special Democratic primary election have to be conducted under the same rules as a presidential election. Despite generating a tiny fraction of the voters seen on Nov. 6, the special elections use the same polling places and staffing levels as a presidential election. Blue Earth County Elections Director Patty OÕConnor said she and other elections officials suggested to Secretary of State Mark Ritchie during a recent visit that low-turnout special elections should have different rules. “It was like, “‘Why can’t we do these by mail? This is crazy,'” O’Connor said.

Missouri: House passes special elections bill | Stltoday

With an eye toward preventing the governor from appointing a new lieutenant governor, the Missouri House passed a bill Wednesday that aims to clarify how some elected officials would be replaced if they leave office early. The chamber approved the bill, which would require that openings in most statewide offices be filled through special elections, in a 115-45 vote, making it the first major piece of legislation to successfully pass a chamber this session. In order to become law, the bill must also be approved by the Senate and signed by the governor. Though the legislation isn’t directly tied to Missouri’s 8th District Congressional vacancy and would not change how former U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson is replaced, the special election has motivated lawmakers to move quickly on the bill.

Massachusetts: Galvin: State ready for special election | Chelmsford Independent

Assuming U.S. Sen. John Kerry clears his Senate confirmation to become U.S. Secretary of State, the 145-to-160-day countdown to a special election would be triggered by his letter of resignation, Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin told reporters Friday morning. President Barack Obama is expected to formally nominate Kerry to the post Friday, according to multiple media reports, and Obama has a 1:30 p.m. personnel announcement planned. Galvin said he was “delighted” for Kerry and said he expects bipartisan agreement Kerry is qualified to succeed Hillary Clinton.

California: Special election could cost $1.7 million; officials look for ways to improve efficiency | Redding Record

When it’s all added up, the special election to fill the state Senate seat vacated by Doug LaMalfa, who has moved on to Congress, could cost north state counties more than $1.7 million. … County boards over the next few days will be asked to spend additional money to hold the special election. The amounts range from $35,000 in Colusa County to $362,000 in Butte County. The extra expense in Butte County, the most populous county in the district, takes into account, among things, the cost to hire poll workers and set up polling sites. It does not factor the costs for the regular elections staff.