The Number of the Day

Today's updates from Ballotpedia No Images? [Click here]( [Ballotpedia's Daily Brew]( Only 206 counties voted for the presidential winner in three out of the past three elections. A total of 206 counties across the nation voted for Barack Obama in both 2008 and 2012, but voted for Donald Trump in 2016. Despite casting only 5 percent of the national vote total in 2016, these [Pivot Counties]( accounted for 51 percent of the popular vote shift toward Republicans. Because of their unique status and significant impact, these Pivot Counties are a good place to study the changing political landscape. From now until the 2018 election, Ballotpedia will regularly release new data on these counties and explore what they can teach us about national trends. 206 was the first number in Ballotpedia's new Number of the Day series. Scott Rasmussen will share a new number with Ballotpedia readers each weekday. Bookmark the link below, and check back each morning to learn the latest statistic. [Launch: Number of the Day]( The U.S. Supreme Court will hear two cases today. In Microsoft Corporation v. Baker, the court will review a judgment of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. After a federal judge denied class action certification, the court granted the plaintiffs’ motion to dismiss the case with prejudice, which would permit the plaintiffs to bring the same charges again in future litigation. Despite the voluntary dismissal, the Ninth Circuit noted jurisdiction and reversed, holding that the judge committed legal error in striking class action allegations from the plaintiffs’ complaint. Microsoft claims that once the plaintiffs voluntarily moved to dismiss there was no cause for appellate review. In Impression Products, Inc. v. Lexmark International, Inc., the court will review an en banc judgment from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In its ruling, the circuit court upheld the validity of two of its own precedents as binding in the law of patent exhaustion, which occurs when a patent holder no longer has exclusive rights over the use of a patented item once that item has been sold. Impression Products argues that two recent U.S. Supreme Court opinions in this area of law supercede the Federal Circuit's precedents. [Read on: Microsoft Corp. v. Baker]( [Read on: Impression Products v. Lexmark]( A special election will take place for the District 197 seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives today. Lucinda Little (R) was the only eligible candidate who filed for the district. The seat is vacant following Leslie Acosta's (D) resignation on January 3, 2017. In late September 2016, it was revealed that Acosta had secretly pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering, a federal felony, in March 2016. Other candidates filed to run for this race or attempted to run, but were not approved for the ballot. Democrat Freddie Ramirez was removed from the ballot via residency challenge. Democratic Party officials then nominated Emilio Vazquez, but missed the filing deadline. Commonwealth Court Judge Anne Covey rejected efforts to see Vazquez added to the ballot. Green Party candidate Cheri Honkala was also denied a spot on the ballot after her nomination was submitted a day past the deadline. [Read on: Pennsylvania Special Elections]( Help keep your friends and colleagues up to date on political news. Forward this email or share on your favorite social media site. You are receiving this email because you signed up for email updates on Ballotpedia.org. Too many emails? Change your preferences below. [Like]( [Tweet]( [Share]( [Forward]( [Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe](