But the court did not find an unlimited right to political spending. There are significant exceptions. Other countries, even those with strong free speech rights, such as Germany and Canada, don't wrangle over this issue the way Americans do. Germans share the notion that campaign spending is speech, but their culture allows for more regulation of that spending. The statutory change would apply to all primary and general elections.
Supporters say statewide polls show that more than two-thirds of voters want mail ballots.
Lawmakers have repeatedly rejected such a measure for a decade. The Los Angeles Times on 1 October reported that a Superior Court judge tentatively ruled Tuesday that former Los Angeles mayoral candidate J. Stanley Sanders violated state law by using campaign funds to pay the rent on his law office, tapping his client trust account to pay political consultants and failing to properly report some contributions. A January trial date was set to determine the amount of penalties and to decide other remaining issues. The amendment had stipulated that subsidies for each party will be increased proportional to the number of women members of the parliament. The Winnipeg Free Press on 1 October reported that in a tight race, the Progressive Conservatives held onto their seat here last night, defeating the Liberals by less than 800 votes in a Provincial by-election.