Two political economists, writing in the Journal of Political Economy, have concluded that being a voter in the primaries in New Hampshire or Iowa makes you essentially as powerful as five voters on Super Tuesday — the date on which the most states hold simultaneous primaries in a presidential election year, which in 2008 was a total of 24, including California. That means that two states, each with arguably centrist tendencies, and with a combined population of 4.4 million (per 2010 Census data), wield enormous political power when it comes to choosing presidential candidates. In 2012, given that California has one of the most racially, religiously, politically, and ethnically diverse populations in the nation — not to mention being the most populous state in the country with 37.3 million residents — why shouldn't we be an early primary state? more ›

Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, plastic bag-banning politico and California Green Party co-founder with a great head of hair, announced yesterday that he'll be running for sheriff. Sheriff Michael Hennessey, whose eighth term expires next January, announced Friday that he won't seek re-election. Mirkarimi had previously mentioned he was considering running for mayor, but the move for sheriff isn't as surprising as it might sound. more ›

Via M.A.: I wonder if all the people that lit mattresses on fire last night are performing their civic duties today. more ›

So, this contributor screwed up. We totally forgot to re-register to vote after we moved a couple of months ago. We had been afraid we wouldn't be able to vote at all and had contemplated "pretending" to still live at our old address. (Hey, it's in the same district!) Luckily we found out that registered voters who move within San Francisco can still vote provisionally. Phew! more ›

U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg ruled last week in favor of San Francisco's ranked choice voting system, which has been in effect since 2004. Sunset district resident Ron Dudum filed the suit, calling the system unconstitutional, after he narrowly lost to Ed Jew during the 2006 election. The judge concluded that while the system does "exert some burden on voting rights, it is not severe." more ›

You may have heard by now, if you follow East Bay headlines, that Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums has decided not to seek re-election. This comes as a great surprise, and disappointment to CityBrights blogger Zennie Abraham. " This blogger predicted he would run and this blogger was way wrong... It's too bad and really sad to see a man I've admired over my life go out this way." more ›

Assemblyman John Pérez of Los Angeles, a former union leader and a cousin of LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, was unanimously chosen yesterday by his Democratic colleagues to succeed Karen Bass as the 68th speaker of the California State Assembly. Pérez rose to power quickly in the Assembly, and was endorsed by Bass as her successor because of his leadership qualities and negotiating expertise. Equality California head Geoff Kors is more than pleased with Pérez's ascension: "To have an openly gay Latino heading the largest legislative body, that represents the most people in the country, in and of itself is going to have a significant impact on advancing LGBT rights." more ›

The East Bay is home to over 40,000 Afghan-Americans, and the big news back home in Afghanistan over the past two days has been the country's second national election since the end of Taliban rule in 2001. A lower turnout was reported than in the last election, largely due to threats of Taliban attacks on polling station and general apathy about the political situation in the country. more ›

The Minnesota Supreme Court has just declared, in a 32-page unanimous decision, that Al Franken won the state's seat in the U.S. Senate in the contested November election against Republican Norm Coleman. The governor, Tim Pawlenty, has already said that he was ready to certify the comedian and liberal pundit just as soon as the court made up their mind, however there is still a 10-day period in which Coleman may concede or in which a federal court could issue a stay. So long as Coleman doesn't care to spend more than the $11 million already spent on the recount or the $50+ million spent on the campaign, this would give Democrats their coveted, filibuster-proof 60th vote in the Senate. more ›

Those who still need to register to vote in time for the February 5 presidential primaries need to do so by tomorrow, January 22nd. Re-registering is necessary whenever you move, change your name, or change your political party affiliation. You can download a form here and mail it in by tomorrow (must be postmarked January 22nd) or deliver it in person. Here's a list of all the local county elections offices. The address for San Francisco's office is more ›