Alabama House Passes Bill Moving Minor Party Petition Deadline to March

On April 26, the Alabama House passed HB 425, which moves the primary (in presidential years) for all office from June to the second Tuesday in March. An already-existing law, section 17-6-22(1), says that new parties must submit their ballot access petition on primary day. Therefore, if this bill is signed into law, the 2012 petition deadline would be March 13.

In 1991, the 11th circuit ruled in New Alliance Party of Alabama v Hand, 933 F 2d 1568, that the old petition deadline of April 6, combined with the requirement that the party submit a number of signatures equal to 1% of the last gubernatorial vote, would be unconstitutional. Nowadays the party petition in Alabama is 3% of the last gubernatorial vote. If a 1% petition due in April was unconstitutional, it is obvious that a 3% petition due in March would also be unconstitutional. Thanks to Josh Putnam of Frontloading HQ for the news about HB 425.

Bills Introduced in Legislatures of Guam and Northern Mariana Islands, for a Plebescite on Reunification

Bills have been introduced in Guam’s legislature, and also in the legislature of the Northern Mariana Islands, calling for a popular vote in each territory on whether the two should be reunified. See this story. Thanks to Michael Richardson for the news.

The two adjacent territories have not been united politically since Spain owned both of them. After the Spanish-American War of 1898, the United States required Spain to cede Guam. The United States was not especially interested in owning the other northerly islands in the same chain, so Spain sold the Northern Mariana Islands to Germany. During World War I and its aftermath, Germany lost them to Japan. Japan conquered Guam in World War II momentarily. After the war, the United States regained Guam as a territory, and the Northern Mariana Islands became a U.N. trusteeship under the direction of the United States. Later, the trusteeship was dissolved, and the Northern Mariana Islands became a commonwealth of the United States, similar in status to Puerto Rico. Both Guam (an unincorporated territory) and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands send a non-voting Delegate to the U.S. House.

Poll Shows Green Party May Win First Member of Canadian Parliament

Canada is holding a Parliamentary election on May 2. According to this article, a poll suggests that the Green Party’s candidate in one particular district in British Columbia is leading. If the Green Party’s candidate, Elizabeth May, wins, that will be the first time the Green Party has elected anyone to the Canadian Parliament.

The results show that 44.5% of the voters intend to vote for May or are leaning toward her; 37.8% for the Conservative Party nominee (the incumbent); 9.1% for the New Democratic Party nominee; and 8.5% for the Liberal Party nominee.

Florida Senate Budget Committee Advances SB 2086

On April 26, the Florida Senate Budget Committee passed SB 2086, the Senate version of the Secretary of State’s omnibus election law bill. The vote was 13-7. The bill has the same provisions making ballot access more difficult for the presidential nominees of new political parties that HB 1355 has, except that the petition would be 2% of the last presidential vote (167,815 signatures) instead of 4%. The Senate bill requires approximately 5,000 signatures on that petition from each of fourteen U.S. House districts, and requires the group to pay to have the petition checked. It appears to require that the presidential and vice-presidential candidate’s names appear on the petition, which would rob the new party of any ability to choose its presidential nominee in the late spring or summer of the election year.

The bill also makes it more difficult for initiatives to get on the ballot, by requiring that the signatures for an initiative be completed within two years, not four years. The bill prohibits a political party from nominating anyone who was a registered member of another party at any time during the odd year before the election, or during the election year itself. It makes no exception for newly-created parties.

The part of the bills concerning presidential nominees appears to conflict with the Florida Constitution, which says, “The requirements for a candidate with no party affiliation or for a candidate of a minor party for placement of the candidate’s name on the ballot shall be no greater than the requirements for a candidate of the party having the largest number of registered voters.”

Utah Legislative Redistricting Committee Hears Appeal for Proportional Representation

On April 25, Utah attorney Rob Latham testified before the joint legislative committee that is drawing the lines for new legislative districts. He advocated that the legislature create 5-member districts, for the House, and also provide for proportional representation. The testimony received publicity. See this story. Latham has set up the web site www://fairvoteutah.org to explain the idea.