The San Francisco Young Democrats held a public forum on October 14, 2009, on proposals to write a new Constitution for California. The meeting was chaired by California Assemblymember Fiona Ma, who asked the panel to comment on the “top-two” ballot measure that will be on the California ballot in June, 2010. Here is a link to a Youtube for that part of the program. It lasts six minutes and 18 seconds.

Speaking moderately in favor of “top-two” was Matt Regan, Director of Government Relations, Bay Area Council. Speaking against it are Blair Bobier of the New America Foundation, and Robert Cruikshank, Public Policy Director of the Courage Campaign. Thanks to Blair Bobier for the link.

One of the problems with public discussion of the California issue is that people in favor of the measure generally refer to it as the “open primary”, whereas opponents refuse to use that label, because in traditional political science usage, and in past U.S. Supreme Court decisions, “open primary” means a system in which each party has its own primary, whereas under “top-two”, there are no party nominees.

The Daily Herald, a newspaper in Arlington Heights, Illinois, has this article about a Democratic Party-connected challenge to the Green Party’s candidate for U.S. House in the 14th district. The article notes that the Green candidate’s petition is being defended by Free and Equal, the ballot access organization created by Christina Tobin.

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On November 20, California elections officials announced that the petition to recall Assemblymember Anthony Adams does not have enough valid signatures. The petition needed 35,825 valid signatures (12% of the vote cast in the district for Governor in 2006). Although recall proponents submitted 58,384, a random sample shows that only 24,579 signatures are valid, a validity rate of only 42.1%.

The recall effort was launched by a group that was angry at Adams for voting for certain tax increases earlier this year. Adams is a Republican representing the 59th district, which is mostly in San Bernardino County, and partly in Los Angeles County.

The National Conference of Commissioners of Uniform State Laws has existed since the 19th century. It proposes model laws to the state legislatures of all states. The Commission has been meeting this year to work on a proposed model law on how to stop presidential electors from voting for presidential or vice-presidential candidates who vote for someone in the electoral college who was not their party’s choice.

The next meeting is in Chicago, December 4 and December 5. It is at the Hotel Sax, 333 N. Dearborn St., and is open to the public. The meetings are Friday, Dec. 4, 9 a.m. thru 5 p.m., and Saturday, 8:30 a.m. thru 3 p.m. The original model bill has been modified since the last meeting. One of the most interesting revisions is to provide that if the presidential nominee of a party dies after November ballots are printed, but before the electoral college meets in mid-December, the electors must vote for their party’s vice-presidential nominee. If they don’t, they are deemed to have resigned and will be replaced by their alternate. The model law provides that states would elect alternate presidential electors to replace presidential electors who vote “disobediently.”

By Louise Radnofsky

Washington Wire loves presidential proclamations, in which the commander-in-chief “by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States” declares a given time for a national celebration of causes often obscure or vague.

This Friday, we note the just-passed National Entrepreneurship Week and America Recycles Day, and look forward to National Farm-City Week, National Family Week and National Child’s Day.

Before the “NOW, THEREFORE…” the White House sometimes slips in a partisan message — or two. In case you missed it, here is today’s plug for the economic stimulus package and the health care overhaul bill in the proclamation for National Family Week:

“My Administration is committed to helping American families meet the demands of modern life, increase their self-sufficiency, and achieve their full potential… the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides a broad spectrum of support to families experiencing difficult times. It boosts child care and Head Start programs, essential not only to a child’s future but also a parent’s peace of mind in the workplace. Health care reform will provide security and stability for American families with insurance and affordable options for uninsured Americans.”

Of course, as we’ve noted before, sneaking a timely message into a historic proclamation certainly isn’t a quirk peculiar to the Obama administration. The Bush administration’s National Family Week proclamation last year included a reference to “our deeply held commitment to supporting America’s families by signing laws that respect the sanctity of life, lower taxes, double the child tax credit, reduce the marriage penalty, and empower parents to make choices about their children’s education.”

Tommy Thompson and Richard Gephardt weigh in.

By Peter Landers

The clock is ticking up to the Senate’s vote scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday on whether to proceed to debate on the health-care bill.

The all-important number is 60. That’s how many votes Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid needs to overcome Republican delaying tactics. With 58 Democrats and two independents in the chamber, he is considered likely to clear the bar, but we won’t know for sure until the votes are counted.

One of the last Democratic fence-sitters, Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, confirmed Friday he’d vote for the motion to proceed. Nelson said he hasn’t decided whether to support the final bill.

Other points to watch for:

–How will the other wavering Democrats characterize their votes? Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Sen. Blanche Lincoln are the senators who have needed the most wooing from Democratic leaders.

–Will any Republicans vote yes? It’s unlikely. But Reid is still hoping to get support later in the process from Maine Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins.

–As speeches from both sides continue Saturday on the Senate floor, who makes the most effective case to Americans? During Friday’s debate, Republicans made a particular point of addressing older voters, saying cuts in the bill will threaten Medicare patients. Democrats say trimming the growth of Medicare spending won’t affect basic services and will help keep the system solvent.

If Reid wins the Saturday vote, the full Senate is set to start debate the bill and take up amendments after the Thanksgiving break, in the week of Nov. 30. If he doesn’t win the vote, it’s back to the drawing board.

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On November 13, a South Dakota Circuit Court Judge ruled that petition signatures are valid if the signer is not on the list of active registered voters, but is on the list of inactive voters. Inactive voters are those who once registered to vote, but whose registration is considered questionable because the post office reported that the voter had moved and that voter has not re-registered. The judge, Kathleen Trandahl, also ruled that petition sheets are valid even if the notary public who notarized that sheet makes errors in his or her notarization statement, such as putting an incorrect date on when the notary’s seal expires. The case is Trucano v Nelson, 32-cv-09-306. See this story.

It is possible the state will appeal. UPDATE: on November 20, the state decided not to appeal. The case arose because the state had rejected a referendum petition. The 2009 session of the legislature had passed a bill to ban smoking in bars and casinos. Opponents of that new law had then submitted a petition to call for a public vote, which will be held in November 2010.