The state’s Supreme Court has issued a stay allowing voters to choose a House District 114 candidate on November 4, as originally planned. The ruling suspends the recent decision by the State Election Commission to postpone the election for former House Speaker Bobby Harrell’s seat until December.

Although the vote will take place, there is still a possibility the results will not count. The court may rule on the underlying case by deciding to allow the results of Tuesday’s election or to throw out those results and side with the commission’s special election plan.

Lobbying

“Advice on How to Stay Out of Jail – From a Lobbyist Who Didn’t” by Kevin Ring for Washington Post

Missouri: “Missouri Attorney General May Face Inquiry over Money from Lobbyists” by Eric Lipton for New York Times

Campaign Finance

“Donors Get Special Access to GOP Governors as Potential 2016 Contenders” by Matea Gold for Washington Post

California: “Once a Crusader against Big Money, Gov. Brown is Collecting Millions” by Michael Finnegan and Ben Welsh for Los Angeles Times

New Mexico: “PRC Member Told He Can’t Pay Himself to Campaign” by Thomas Cole for Albuquerque Journal

Texas: “Ethics Commission Approves Dark Money Regulation” by David Saleh Rauf (San Antonio Express-News) for Austin American-Statesman

Ethics

Alabama: “Jury Finds Alabama Lawmaker Not Guilty of Perjury” by Kim Chandler (Associated Press) for Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Ohio: “State Rep. Sandra Williams Found Guilty of Profiting from Ohio State Football Tickets” by Jim Siegel for Columbus Dispatch

South Carolina: “Bobby Harrell: A quick rise to power, and a quicker fall” by Jeremy Borden and Schuyler Knopf for Charleston Post & Courier

Texas: “Houston Drops Subpoenas to Get Speeches from Pastors Opposed to Anti-Discrimination Ordinance” by The Associated Press for Fox News

Elections

“Election Could Tip Historic Number of Legislatures into Republican Hands” by Reid Wilson for Washington Post

California: “L.A. Officials to Consider Ballot Measures to Change Election Years” by David Zahniser for Los Angeles Times

Louisiana: “Louisiana’s Rogues Yield to National Issues” by Campbell Robertson and Jonathan Martin for New York Times

Minnesota: “Campaigning to Extend, or End, One-Party Rule” by Monica Davey for New York Times

Montana: “Stanford Research Gaffe: School apologizes to Montana voters for ‘election guide’” by Katy Murphy for San Jose Mercury News

South Carolina: “State Election Officials Opt to Delay Election in Bobby Harrell’s Old House Seat” by Jeremy Borden for Charleston Post & Courier

Political Advertising

“In Democratic Election Ads in South, a Focus on Racial Scars” by Jeremy Peters for New York Times

Independent candidate Tom Ervin suspended his campaign for governor this week and endorsed Democratic Sen. Vincent Sheheen. Ervin, a self-funded attorney and former judge, had the support of just 3.9 percent of likely voters, according to an October 1 Winthrop poll.

The poll also indicated Gov. Nikki Haley led Sheheen by a 43.6 percent to 33.6 percent margin. Haley, the state’s first female and Indian-American governor, beat Sheheen in 2010 with 51.4 percent of votes.

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.