The North Carolina ballot access reform bill, HB 32, which has already passed the House, is set for a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee in the next week, which means it will then receive a vote on the Senate floor if it passes Committee. It is believed that the Committee will support the bill, because otherwise it would not have been set for a hearing. The exact date of the hearing is not yet determined. The bill lowers the number of signatures for minor parties and statewide independent candidates from 2% of the last gubernatorial vote, to one-fourth of 1% of the number of registered voters. Thanks to Brian Irving for this news.

One-fourth of 1% of the number of registered voters currently is 15,327 valid signatures. However, the tally that will be used for the calculation, should this bill be signed into law, will be in the spring of 2012, so the number by then would probably be slightly higher, as voter registration continues to increase. A good guess is 16,000 signatures. UPDATE: the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing is set for 9 a.m. on Thursday, July 28.