Voters rejected changing Arizona’s primary election system to a top-two structure.

Proposition 121 would have allowed primary elections in which all voters, regardless of party affiliation, vote in a single and combined primary. The top two vote-getters for each seat would then have advanced to a general election ballot. The proposition would not have affected elections where no party affiliation appears on a ballot.

Voters also rejected a proposition aimed squarely at the judicial department. Proposition 115 would have increased the term length of judges and raised their retirement ages.

The proposition additionally included procedural changes, such as requiring court decisions to be published online, requiring the Supreme Court to send copies of judicial performance reviews for each judge who is up for retention to the legislature, and allowing a joint legislative committee to meet and take testimony on justices and judges up for retention.

Campaign Finance

“Outside Spending Defines Elections” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

California: “California’s 11th-hour, $11 million campaign finance uproar” by Alexander Burns in Politico.

California: “California watchdog only half-way to bottom of Arizona donation” by Peter Henderson (Reuters) in the Chicago Tribune.

Maine:  “Ethics Commission Rules a Republican Candidate Violated State Election Law” by The Associated Press in WABI News.

Lobbying

“2 firms unite in Capitol lobbying” by Mary Jo Pitzl in the Arizona Republic.

Ethics

“Campaigns use secretive ethics process as weapon against opponents” by Jordy Yager in The Hill.

Campaigns and Elections

“One Final Preview of the Election” by Meagan Dorsch in NCSL’s The Thicket.

“5 Unforgettable Social Media Election Moments” by Juliet Barbara in Forbes.

“How to cut through social media noise on Election Night” by Jenna Sakwa on CBS News.

“5 social media questions 2012 will answer” by Steve Friess in Politico.

“Tweet, like, and vote: Social media in modern campaigns” by Rachel Sadon and Leah Yarnshon in TechHive.

“The Politics Of Social Media” by Krister Rollins in WCSH News.

“Social Technologies Changing How the Next Generation Votes (Infographic)” by Crystal Hutter in the Huffington Post.

Lobbying

“Start-ups aim for a more democratic lobbying system” by Jeffrey MacMillan in the Washington Post.

“More banks raise efforts on lobbying” by Carter Dougherty (Bloomberg) in NorthJersey.com.

Campaign Finance

“Former lawmakers sit on piles of cash” by Molly K. Hooper in The Hill.

Arizona: “Updated: Arizona group ordered to turn over campaign donation records” by The Associated Press in the East Valley Tribune.

Arkansas: “State senator’s campaign money went to girlfriend, records show” by John Lyon in the Arkansas News.

California: “Fight over campaign donation audit goes to California top court” by Tim Gaynor in Reuters.

Michigan: “Campaign spending in Michigan hits $175M” by Chad Livengood in the Detroit News.

Nevada: “Dollars in the Desert: Nevada State Senate Contest Rakes in Big Money” by Ben Wieder in Stateline.

Oklahoma:  “Super PACs altering Oklahoma’s political landscape” by Randy Krehbiel and Curtis Killman in the Tulsa World.

Washington: “Big names and big money define Washington state election” by The Associated Press in The Oregonian.

Ethics

“2 top Texas judges on ballot fighting ethics fines” by Jim Vertuno in the Austin American-Statesman.

Campaigns and Elections

“New Jersey to allow voting by e-mail and fax” by Ginger Gibson in Politico.

“In Legislative Elections, Majorities and Supermajorities at Stake” by Josh Goodman in Stateline.

With election day less than a week away, the electoral college is still perhaps the most influential and simultaneously least understood aspect of American Presidential elections. After tens of millions of votes are cast, only 270 are required to be elected President of the United States. Established under Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, the electoral college was later amended by both the twelfth and twentieth amendments to arrive at its current form. The idea is that states vote for the President and Vice President, and the people vote for the legislature. This method was essentially a compromise between those who wanted Congress to elect the President versus those who prefered a nationwide popular vote.

Each state is allotted a number of electors equal to the size of its congressional delegation. For example, Ohio’s 18 electoral votes equal it’s 16 members of the House of Representatives and two Senators. With a total of 538 electors (Washington D.C. is allotted three votes despite having no voting members in Congress) a majority of 270 is required to win election. Though the process varies, electors are generally selected by the political parties at statewide conventions or by each parties central committee’s. On election day, voters choose the electors by casting votes for one of the Presidential candidates on the ballot. With the exception of Maine and Nebraska, all of a state’s electors are awarded to the candidate who receives the most total votes. Maine and Nebraska award electors proportionally allowing these states to award votes to more than one candidate.

The electors meet to cast votes on the first Monday following the second Wednesday in December in their respective states, and send the certified results to Congress. Congress then counts the official tally in a joint session on January 6 following the year of the electors meeting. While there is no Constitutional provision or federal law that requires an elector to cast a ballot based on the popular vote of their respective states, most state and party laws require electors to adhere to popular vote pledges. Additionally, the Supreme Court has traditionally held that electors must vote consistent with the results in their states. In practice, electors generally do not go against the will of the electorate. According the National Archives, the official record keeper of Presidential elections, less than 1 percent of electoral voters have not voted in accordance with the popular vote historically.

Essentially what all of this means is that each candidate is focused on a small number of states that are likely to go either way instead of running nationwide campaigns trying to win the popular vote. Based on a number of recent maps drawn from incessant polling and statistical models, there are between 7 and 9 states still rated as toss-ups in the election (FL, CO, IA, NC, NH, NV, OH, VA, WI). Without the electoral votes offered by these states, President Obama currently has between 237 and 243 electoral votes (NV leans D in some projections) to Governor Mitt Romney’s 191 to 206 votes (NC leans R in some projections).

If there is any confusion as to which states each candidate deems vital to winning the election, look no further than each campaigns schedule over the next few days. Both President Obama and Governor Romney will present their closing arguments in each of the aforementioned swing states hoping to turn that last undecided voter before election day. And if you’re still curious, keep in mind that no republican has EVER won the Presidency without winning Ohio, so expect to see a lot of the Romney campaign in the buckeye state.

To learn more about the electoral college visit the National Archives and to build your own electoral map and lay the path to 270 for each candidate, visit 270towin.com.

A federal court’s preliminary injunction has found the state’s 100-year ban on election-day campaigning to be an unreasonable restraint on free speech. The lawsuit was filed by the Center for Competitive Politics, a pro-free speech group. The Center represents Gary Emineth, who wishes to post yard signs on his property, distribute fliers, and discuss the upcoming election with his neighbors.

The North Dakota statute bans any person, on election day, from trying to induce or persuade others to support or oppose any candidate or ballot measure.

The court’s ruling also orders state officials to refrain from prosecuting any person for a violation of N.D.C.C. §16.1-10-06 for the pendency of the case.

Lobbying

“K Street Lobbyists Ready for Post-Sandy Disaster Aid Requests” by Kate Ackley and Janie Lorber in Roll Call.

“The Hill’s 2012 Top Lobbyists” in The Hill.

“5 Wisconsin lawmakers settle suit with groups seeking ALEC emails” by Jason Stein in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Campaign Finance

“Outside cash trumps candidates’ in half a dozen tight races” by Kevin Bogardus and Megan R. Wilson in The Hill.

California: “Judge backs Jerry Brown, FPPC on Arizona campaign donations” by Kevin Yamamura in the Sacramento Bee.

Oklahoma: “Oklahoma candidates accept corporate contributions, afoul of state law” by Megan Rolland in The Oklahoman.

Oklahoma: “Chickasaw Nation leads state superPAC donors” by Randy Kehbiel in the Tulsa World.

Campaigns and Elections

“Where’s Your Polling Location? On IOS 6, There’s Now An App To Help You Find Out” by Sarah Lai Stirland in TechPresident.

“Federal Offices, Metrorail System in Washington Closed Monday” in the National Journal.

Lobbying

“Lobby shop revenues continue fall” by Catherine Ho in the Washington Post.

“K Street Lobbyists Hit the Campaign Trail in Virginia” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Jack Abramoff on America’s bipartisan culture of corruption” by Joseph Cotto in the Washington Times.

Michigan:  “Most term-limited Michigan officials stay in government or lobbying” in the Lansing State Journal.

Campaign Finance

“In state races, N.Y.C., Albany dominate campaign donations” by Jon Campbell in the Democrat and Chronicle.

Ethics

“Ron Paul-Inspired Group Lobbies for Bill Prompted by Paul Reimbursements” by Jonathan Strong in Roll Call.

Campaigns and Elections

“Campaign lawyers gear up for nail-biter election” by Michael Knigge in Deutsche Welle.

Lobbying

“K Street flags shortcomings of lobbying law” by Dave Levinthal in Politico.

“Lobbying spending goes up even with Congress away” by Dave Levinthal in Politico.

“K Street prepares for sequestration battle” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

“Facebook continues record lobbying spending” by Jennifer Martinez in The Hill.

“Lobbying Groups Object to Proposed NY Ethics Regulations” by Chris Vest in Associations Now.

“Romney and the lobbysists” by Heath Brown in The Hill.

Campaign Finance

“Citizens United: What Obama, Romney would do about campaign finance reform” by Justin Elliott in the Alaska Dispatch.

“Mauled by Ads, Incumbents Look to Declaw Outside Groups” by Jennifer Steinhauer in The New York Times.

Campaigns and Elections

“Why Are Elections On Tuesdays?” by Selena Simmons-Duffin on NPR.

“Why Campaigns Are Happy Your Vote Isn’t as Private as Many Think It Is” by Nick Judd in TechPresident.

Tech and Social Media

“Federal website satisfaction dips slightly” by Joseph Marks in Nextgov.

Mashable has a list of six apps, but I am featuring the three most interesting. One of them is NBC Politics, which is an app for the iPad and iPhone.  It provides up-to-date NBC election coverage and allows users to predict which candidate will win in each of the states.

Talking Points Memo’s PollTracker is an app for the iPhone. This app gives you the latest news on where the polls stand in both the congressional and presidential elections.

Washington Post Politics is an iPad-only app.  It has a map, which is different from the one on NBC Politics. Washington Post Politics shows the polling data of each state and the campaign ads running in the swing states.

The second site I am covering is Venture Beat and I’ll highlight two of the apps they list. Ad Hawk is an app for Android and iOS. It can listen to any political ad and give you the information behind the ads sponsors.  It’s pretty much Shazam for campaign ads.

YouTube Election Hub is not a mobile app but is a channel on YouTube that features content from the conventions, the debates, and election news.  It also gets its information from ABC News, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and more.

Check out these sites for more political apps.

Have a great weekend and I’ll see you next time.

A special election is set for December 11 in the race for the Iowa State Senate District 22 seat due to very unfortunate circumstances. State Senator Pat Ward passed away from breast cancer on October 15, making the special election necessary.

Both Ward and her opponent, democratic candidate Desmund Adams, will still appear on the November 6th ballot, but the state will not count any of the votes. The Republican Party will select a candidate at a special nominating convention to run against Adams. The republicans must select a candidate by November 13.

Adams has decided to suspend his campaign to allow the district to mourn the loss of Ward.

Campaign Finance

“PACs attack: N.Y. seeing a flood of outside money” by The Associated Press in Pressconnects.com.

Florida: “Meet Florida’s big-time donors to super PACs” by Alex Leary in the Miami Herald.

“Md. referendum campaigns raise $53 million” by John Wagner and Aaron C. Davis in The Washington Post.

Lobbying

“Loopholes abound in some lobbyist gift bans” by Chris Joyner in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“Patton Boggs moves to reinvent itself” by Catherine Ho in The Washington Post.

“Lobbying Efforts From Tech Companies Surge On Capitol Hill” in Fast Company.

Kentucky: “Ellen Williams joins McBrayer lobbying team” by Tom Lotus in the Courier-Journal.

Pennsylvania: “Lobbyists could be subject to open-records law” by Dan Miller in the Patriot-News.

Pennsylvania: “Lobbyists’ checks buy lawmaker access” by John L. Micek in the Morning Call.

Ethics

“Jackson Jr. probe focuses on house” by Kevin Robillard in Politico.

Campaigns and Elections

“Candidates turn to geo-targeting in ads” by Megan R. Wilson in The Hill.

“For politically playful news orgs, the 2012 election means social interactivity” by Adrienne LaFrance in Nieman Journalism Lab.

“Campaigns Mine Personal Lives to Get Out the Vote” by Charles Duhigg in The New York Times.

National:

Are Voter ID Opponents Winning the Battle but Losing the War?

Federal:

House, Senate Campaigns Welcome Lobbyists Shunned by Team Obama

Obama, Romney Face Most Narrow Electoral Map in Recent History

From the States and Municipalities:

Arizona

State Lawmaker Ben Arredondo Pleads Guilty to Two Felonies

Florida

Butterworth Skirts State Lobbying Laws to Land $44 Million-a-Year Contract in Broward

Illinois

Federal Judge Upholds Limits on Contributions to State Candidates

Maryland

Del. Tiffany Alston Suspended from Office, General Assembly Lawyer Says

Montana

Appeals Court Reinstates Campaign Finance Limits

Nevada

Ross Miller Pursues Campaign Finance Law Violations against AFP

Ohio

Ohio Republican Party Reaches Settlement to Resolve Complaint That it Lied in Campaign Literature against Redistricting Issue

Texas

DeLay Attorneys: Ex-GOP Star Didn’t Launder Money

State and Federal Communications produces a weekly summary of national news, offering more than 80 articles per week focused on ethics, lobbying, and campaign finance.

News You Can Use is a news service provided at no charge only to clients of our online Executive Source Guides, or ALERTS™ consulting clients.

Campaign Finance

“Members’ PACs Test Unregulated Spending” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

“Harvard Law professor talks campaign finance corruption” by Ben Atlas in the Michigan Daily.

South Carolina: “Groups calling for probe into Harrell spending” by Meg Kinnard (Associated Press) in the Spartanburg Herald-Journal.

Ethics

“Texas Ethics Commission fines Texas Rep. Allen Fletcher” by Caleb Harris in the Tomball Magnolia Tribune.

“Edward Wasserman: TV ‘watchdogs’ quiet as political ad cash rolls in” by Edward Wasserman in the Bellingham Herald.

South Carolina: “This year’s ‘hot’ SC campaign issue? Ethics” by Adam Beam in The State.

Elections

“Across the electoral map, a mixed picture for candidates down the ballot” by Karen Tumulty in the Washington Post.