First Cook County judicial filing on the last day

Melanie Rose Nuby, an assistant Public Defender who ran for a seat from the 7th Subcircuit in 2008, filed petitions this morning to oppose Judge Thomas V. Lyons in the race for the countywide O'Malley vacancy. The only other candidate in that race... so far... is Kevin J. Murphy. Murphy, however, has filed for every available countywide vacancy and for all three vacancies in the 15th Judicial Subcircuit.

Filings like this are likely to take place throughout the day as the initial filing period comes to a close. There should be something of a boomlet just before the doors close at the State Board of Elections as candidates jostle for the privilege of being the last candidate on the ballot for any given opening.

Being first on the ballot is known to confer an advantage -- but, in many cases, so many file for that privilege that the odds are fairly long for any individual. A lottery decides who gets the top line. Being last on the ballot confers and advantage, too, though the statisticians say it is not as great as being first. Of course, there can be a lottery for last place among those deemed 'in line' when the doors close... but that seems a seriously stressful game to play, doesn't it?

There are as yet no withdrawals filed in Cook County judicial races, nor any objections either. Candidates who have filed for multiple vacancies have until a week from today -- November 9 -- to decide which race to stay in and which ones to abandon.