On March 10, Hawaii HB 1716 passed the House. It says a party that has been on the ballot for the last eight years can remain on the ballot if it continues to run candidates, files campaign finance reports, and keeps the state informed of its officers.
On March 12, the Ohio Secretary of State’s office held a hearing on whether to remove one of the two Libertarians running against each other in the Libertarian primary for U.S. Senate. See this story.
On March 11, the Delaware House Elections Committee passed HB 188. It changes Delaware from a closed primary system to a semi-closed system, by allowing independent voters to choose a partisan primary. Independent voters who chose a partisan primary would not thereafter be regarded as having given up independent status.
Most of the committee members were not persuaded that the bill is a good idea, but said they passed it anyway so the full House can decide.
On March 5, the Kentucky House passed HB 534, an omnibus election bill that lets people run for President (or Vice President) and to simultaneously run for either House of Congress. See this story.
On March 2, the Arizona legislature passed HB 4115. It requires initiative circulators who are being paid to tell every person approached, and to say what state the circulator lives in, and that the circulator is being paid. Here is the text. This may violate the First Amendment, which protects against compelled speech.
