The Mississippi Supreme Court has sided with Sen. Thad Cochran, ending a protracted legal battle over the results of the Republican primary runoff election. Chris McDaniel challenged Cochran’s victory in a lawsuit filed in August, claiming Democratic voters illegally participated in the Republican primary.

The court dismissed the suit because it was past the 20 day deadline imposed by common law to challenge an election result. Though the state election laws have changed since the case creating the deadline, the McDaniel campaign argued no such requirement was ever codified.

The state Supreme Court was not persuaded and concurred with the lower court’s dismissal.

Seal of the Judiciary of Mississippi by Connormah on Wikimedia Commons.

Days after election officials announced no special election would be needed to replace former House Speaker Bobby Harrell in House District 114, the State Election Commission unanimously voted to hold the special election.

The commission reversed the earlier ruling after Harrell submitted a signed affidavit contending he resigned on the nonpolitical grounds of family crisis, including the loss of his job after pleading guilty to ethics violations.

State law allows a political party additional time to field a new candidate if the party’s candidate steps down for nonpolitical reasons. If Democrats do not prevail on appeal, the Republican primary would take place on November 25, followed by a special election on December 9. If a runoff is necessary after the primary, the runoff would be December 9, with the special election pushed back to a date to be determined by the commission.

Lobbying

“Lobbyists, Bearing Gifts, Pursue Attorneys General” by Eric Lipton for New York Times

“K Street Files: Is that a lobbyist knocking on your door?” by Kate Ackley for Roll Call

“K Street’s Republicans Hope for Uptick in Business” by Anna Palmer for Politico

“State Rep. Mallory Pleads Guilty to Improperly Accepting, Disclosing Gifts from Lobbyists” by Jim Siegel for Columbus Dispatch

Campaign Finance

“House Dems Shame Stingy Members” by Mike Lillis for The Hill

“Super PACs Keep Candidates Afloat with a Little Help from Their Friends” by Paul Blumenthal for Huffington Post

“Finance Laws Aim to Be Clear” by Joy Hampton for Moore American

Ethics

“Ethics Reforms Shepherded by Bowser Look Better in Hindsight, Some Say” by Mike DeBonis for Washington Post

Elections

“Nothing in Moderation” by Thomas Edsall for New York Times

“Iowan’s Playbook, for Women to Win Men’s Vote” by Sheryl Gay Stolberg for New York Times

Election Day is Tuesday, November 4th! State and Federal Communications will be offering a new 2014 Election Coverage—Midterm Mania Dashboard!

Be sure to check in with State and Federal Communications for all your government affairs related election coverage. Midterm Mania election results will be updated live at our Election 2014 Dashboard.

State and Federal Communications is always a supporter of our Northeast Ohio treasure, WKSU.

This year we are proud to be a sponsor of WKSU’s coverage of Election 2014!

With each election, the company’s President and CEO Elizabeth Bartz encourages greater voter-turnout: “Exercise your right to vote! It is your personal opportunity to be heard!”

The WKSU Election 2014 page aptly says: “Even though 2014 is not a Presidential Election year, there are many important races throughout Northeast Ohio and across the state. The WKSU newsroom will offer in-depth coverage of the races and issues that affect the region.”

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford won another election last night in Toronto, albeit for the Ward 2 City Council seat he occupied before becoming mayor. The incumbent mayor’s brother, Doug Ford, lost his own bid to be the next mayor of the city against John Tory, the Progressive Conservative candidate.

According to CBC News Toronto,  Rob Ford, who withdrew from the mayoral race earlier this year due to illness, said, “I can assure you, I’ll be taking care of my health and I’ll be taking care of the people in Etobicoke North and I’ll continue to take care of every taxpayer in this city, like I always have.”

Photo of Rob Ford by West Annex News on Wikimedia Commons.

No special election will be held to replace former House Speaker Bobby Harrell in House District 114. Harrell, who recently pleaded guilty to ethics violations, will remain on the November 4 ballot, but will not be eligible to win the election.

The plea agreement requires Harrell to resign, not seek office for three years, and cooperate in other investigations. The race for House District 114 will be decided between Democrat Mary Tinkler and Green Party nominee Sue Edward.

Washington, D.C. voters will elect their attorney general for the first time on November 4, 2014. Up until this year, the attorney general has been appointed by the mayor.

In 2010, voters approved a charter amendment authorizing the first election of the city’s attorney general and setting a primary election for April 2014. In late 2013, the council passed a law delaying the election from 2014 to 2018, fearing the city lacked the necessary preparation.

Paul Zukerberg, a candidate for attorney general, challenged the 2013 law in court. In June 2014, the Court of Appeals ruled an election must be held in 2014 unless it would not be practically possible for the D.C. Board of Elections to do so.

Following a directive by the Court of Appeals to set a date for the election, the D.C. Superior Court decided the election will be held on November 4, 2014, the same day as the mayoral election.

Lobbying

“Lobby Firms Beat the Midterm Blues” by Megan Wilson for The Hill.

“Legislators’ Trips Abroad Apparently Above Board” by Tess Townsend for New London Day.

Campaign Finance

“Record Public Financing Amounts Awarded to Candidates” by Gregory Hladky for Hartford Courant.

“Donors Use Loophole to Pour Money into Governor’s Race” by Jeremy Borden for Charleston Post & Courier.

“Campaign Coordination Suit Filed in a Way to Get Favorable Judge” by Patrick Marley for Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Ethics

“Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard Indicted” by Brian Lyman (Montgomery Advertiser) for USA Today.

“Legislators Need Stricter Disclosure Rules, Advocate Tells Panel” for Indianapolis Business Journal; Staff

“In William Galvin’s Contracts, Little Public Process” by Waltyer Robinson for Boston Globe.

Elections

“Health Scare in Texas Also Sends Political Ripples” by Manny Fernandez for New York Times.

“Supreme Court Allows Texas to Use Voter ID Law” by Adam Liptak for New York Times.

Political Advertising

“Environmental Issues Become a Force in Political Advertising” by Coral Davenport and Ashley Parker for New York Times.

A constitutional amendment on the November ballot to allow the adjutant general to be appointed has the support of both the Republican and Democratic parties. The adjutant general oversees the state’s National Guard and is currently an elected position held by Bob Livingston, an Army major general.

The parties have jointly launched “Troops Leading Troops,” a social media project encouraging voters to support the amendment.

The adjutant general position will be appointed by the governor beginning in January 2019, if the amendment passes. Party leaders believe the measure would take politics out of choosing the adjutant general and ensure officeholders are adequately qualified.

Lobbying

“Aereo registers lobbyist as it seeks new classification” by Mario Trujillo in The Hill.

Arizona: “Arizona attorney general candidate faces lobbying complaint” by Phil Villarreal on KGUN ABC News.

New Jersey: “N.J. lawmakers considering restricting lobbyists working for state” by John Reitmeyer in The Record.

Campaign Finance

“Senate Races: Where Outside Groups Spend Their Money” by Derek Willis in The New York Times.

“Anti-big money super PAC reels in big money” by Kenneth P. Vogel in Politico.

“Is Buying Influence a Right?” by David Earley in the Brennan Center for Justice Blog.

“Courting Corruption: The Auctioning of the Judicial System” by Norm Ornstein in The Atlantic.

“New Koch brothers PAC the biggest fundraiser of Q3” by Kathy Kiely, Peter Olsen-Phillips and Jacob Fenton on the Sunlight Foundation Blog.

Arizona: “Clean Elections boss says it appears schools chief John Huppenthal broke campaign finance laws” by Bob Christie (Associated Press) in The Republic.

California: “CalPERS board member stripped of leadership posts for campaign finance infractions” by Dale Kasler in The Sacramento Bee.

Illinois: “Governor race shattering campaign finance records” by Sara Burnett (Associated Press) in the Sun Herald.

Minnesota: “Fundraising-palooza: The latest on MN campaign money” by Brett Neely in Minnesota Public Radio’s Capitol View.

Missouri: “Ex-Missouri Gov. Blunt ends campaign committee” by The Associated Press in The Telegraph.

Oregon: “Michael Bloomberg gives $1.25M to Oregon’s ‘top two’ primary campaign” by The Associated Press on KATU.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: “Phila. Ethics Board tightens campaign-finance rules” by Chris Hepp in The Inquirer.

Ethics

Georgia: “Ga. auditor slams state ethics commission” by The Associated Press in The Telegraph.

State Legislatures

“Two lawmakers involved in shoot-out with robbers near Capitol” by Amy Worden and Allison Steele in The Inquirer.

Elections

“Supreme Court leaves its mark on the midterms” by Josh Gerstein in Politico.

“Courts Are Ruling on Voting Laws – Here’s Where They Stand” by Phil Mattingly in Bloomberg Politics.

“Battle of wits over Senate 2014 map” by James Hohmann in Politico.

Arkansas: “Arkansas’ Voter ID Law Struck Down Amid Confusion in Texas” by Lauren Raab in Governing.

Ohio: “Jerry Springer hits the road for Ohio candidate” by Ann Sanner (Associated Press) on Cincinnati.com.

Texas: “Meet Sam Houston, the Democrat Running a Lonely Campaign for Texas Attorney General” by Jay Root in Governing.

Wisconsin: “Wisconsin Democrats Try Moderation to Fight Gov. Scott Walker” by David Lauter in Governing.

Tech and Social Media

“Nonprofit Long Distance Voter Helped Provide Data for Google Voting Search Feature” by Miranda Neubauer in TechPresident.

“Digital.NYC Launches to Spur Innovation and Economic Growth” by Hilton Collins in Government Technology.

“Accela Extends Platform with Government Outreach Acquisition” in Government Technology.

Tennessee: “Tennessee Releases App in Time for the Start of Early Voting” by Richard Locker in Government Technology.

A federal judge in Indianapolis ruled the statute delineating how Marion Superior judges are elected is unconstitutional. The election of Marion Superior judges is unique, as Republican and Democratic parties may nominate up to half of the open positions.

Furthermore, once a judge wins in the primary, he or she will automatically be elected in the general because there are as many candidates as there are open seats. Because primaries are restricted to the two major parties, only those eligible to vote in the primary elections are able to cast meaningful votes for the open judgeships, and those who do not declare a party have no say in the election of the judges.

The court found the statute severely burdens the right to vote. The ruling is stayed and will not affect next month’s election.

Lobbying

“Lobbying World” in The Hill.

“Will All the GOP Lobbyists Please Stand Up?” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

Alabama: “Powerful Alabama teacher lobbyist Paul Hubbert dies” by The Associated Press in The News Courier.

Campaign Finance

“Goldwater would have hated ‘Citizens United’” opinion piece by Ron Fein in The Washington Post.

“Renewal of the establishment, fueled by money” by Heath Brown in The Hill.

Colorado: “Citizens United can make movie without disclosing donors, court says” by Joey Bunch in the Denver Post.

Kentucky: “Pro-Grimes super PAC money also from out-of-state” by Tom Loftus in The Courier-Journal.

Maine: “State senator from Sanford used PAC money to pay himself and family $17,000” by Naomi Schalit in the Portland Press Herald.

Ethics

“FEC Rulemakings Roil Agency, Critics | Rules of the Game” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

Michigan: “Terri Lynn Land held state meetings at family business” by John Bresnahan in Politico.

Missouri: “Ethics complaint filed over lobbyist gifts to Missouri lawmakers” by Jason Hancock in the Kansas City Star.

North Carolina: “Former Charlotte Mayor Sentenced to Nearly 4 Years in Prison” by Michael Gordon in Governing.

Washington: “No more free lunch: Washington sets limits on how often lobbyists can ply lawmakers” by Reid Wilson in The Washington Post.

Congress

“Laws plummet in post-earmark era” by Niki Papadogiannakis in The Hill.

Elections

“Four Republicans look to make comebacks” by Cristina Marcos in The Hill.

Colorado: “As Midterms Approach, Colorado Stands Out in Expanding Access” by Jonathan Brater in the Brennan Center for Justice Blog.

Tech and Social Media

“Twitter’s Most Popular Congressional Staffer Gets New Title” by Niels Lesniewski in Roll Call.

Lobbying

UK: “Charities must record when employees use Twitter to campaign, Electoral Commission says” by Emily Corfe in Civil Society.

Campaign Finance

“Campaign Finance 40 Years Later” in The New York Times’ Room for Debate.

“Koch donors uncloaked” by Kenneth P. Vogel and Mike Allen in Politico.

New Mexico: “Once again, it’s campaign finance day (officially at least)” by Steve Terrell in the Santa Fe New Mexican.

Ethics

Nevada: “Nevada gov’t ethics commission seeks new policies” by Emerson Marcus in the Reno Gazette-Journal.

New York: “Wrapped up in gift rules” by James M. Odato in the Times Union.

Ohio: “State ethics watchdog tracks 1,600 lobbyists’ activity and spending” by TC Brown in Columbus CEO.

Oregon: “Gov. Kitzhaber asks ethics commission to review fiancee’s contracts” by Anna Staver in the Statesman Journal.

West Virginia: “West Virginia Ethics Commission committee interviews candidates for executive director’s job” by The Associated Press in the Daily Journal.

Elections

“Who to watch in House Class of 2014” by Alex Isenstadt in Politico.

“Why Republicans Must Win the Senate in 2014” by Stuart Rothenberg in Roll Call.

Tech and Social Media

“States Ascend Into the Cloud” by Jeffrey Stinson in Stateline.

“Follow the Money…” by Emily Jarvis in Govloop.