The National Popular Vote Plan bill in Oregon this year is SB 624. It has 32 sponsors in the House (out of 60 members), and 13 sponsors in the Senate (out of 30 members). In the Senate, only one of the sponsors is a Republican. In the House, only six of the sponsors are Republicans.
On February 22, California State Senator Michael Rubio (D-Shafter) resigned from the Senate. He had been elected to his first four-year term in 2010. Now California will hold a special election to fill the vacancy. The district is in the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley. See this story.
Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling has said he will announce on March 14 whether to run as an independent candidate for Governor of Virginia this year. Meanwhile, the Independent Green Party is already circulating an independent petition with Bolling’s name on it, so that if he does run, he will have the advantage of the signatures collected by the party. Here is the party’s web page for the “Draft” effort, including a link to a petition form.
On February 20, the Oklahoma Senate Rules Committee passed SB 76, which hugely increases candidate filing fees. All Republicans on the Committee voted “yes” and all Democrats voted “No.” The fee for state legislature would rise from $200 to $400; the fee for statewide executive offices other than Governor rise from $200 to $1,000; the fee for Governor from $1,500 to $3,000; for U.S. Senate, from $750 to $2,000; for U.S. House, $500 to $1,500. Thanks to E. Zachary Knight for this news.
On February 20, the New Mexico Senate Rules Committee passed SB 276, the bill to restore a straight-ticket device to New Mexico ballots. The vote was 6-4, with all Democrats voting “yes” and all Republicans voting “no.” If this bill passes the legislature, it seems somewhat likely that the state’s Republican Governor will veto the bill.
The bill says that only parties with more than a single statewide nominee on the ballot would have a straight-ticket device. In practice, given New Mexico’s severe ballot access laws for office other than President, this would mean that if the bill were enacted, most of the time only the Democratic and Republican Parties would have a straight-ticket device.