Political Tales of Woe

In the end, voters should elect whom they want, but constitutionally so

Over on the infamous Left Coast, the Oregon Elections Division has ruled that former New York Times columnist Nick Kristof is ineligible to run for governor, having not met the state’s constitutional requirement that he be a resident of the state for three years.

Election officials say there is overwhelming evidence that he hasn’t been a resident long enough, among other things having voted in New York in 2020. Kristof says he will prove otherwise in court, so we’ll see.

One thing is for sure, though, this is not some Republican shenanigans to keep the comrade off the ballot. Certainly not in Oregon. Here’s what Oregon secretary of state Shemia Fagan, a Democrat, had to say:

While this case has clearly garnered significant public interest, in the end our elections officials told me it wasn’t even a close call. And while there have been creative legal arguments and an impressive PR campaign, given the evidence I venture that most Oregonians who are paying attention have reached the same conclusion.

On Twitter, Kristof says the voters should choose:

A failing political establishment in Oregon has chosen to protect itself, rather than give voters a choice.

While that’s probably true, it misses the point. There’s still that pesky thing called the state constitution, and the courts should make an objective determination whether the residency requirements are met by Kristof, who also paid state income taxes in New York and maintained his driver’s license there in 2020.

There are a couple of points to be made here, but first another and similar tale of political woe, and this one will make your head spin.