On March 5, the Oklahoma House Rules Committee passed HB 2425. It moves the non-presidential primary from June to early March. The presidential primary would then be combined with the primary for other offices. This is a drastic change. Because the date of the non-presidential primary is tied to the deadlines for new parties and non-presidential independent candidates. The petition for a new party would be due in November of the year before the election, and the deadline for non-presidential independents (who don’t need a petition) would be close to New Year’s Day of the election year.

On March 9, U.S. District Court Judge Louise Wood Flanagan, a Bush Jr. appointee, upheld North Carolina’s ban on a voter taking a picture of that voter’s voted ballot. Hogarth v Bell, e.d., 5:24cv-481. The ruling says the ban is necessary to prevent a voter from being bribed. This is an unconvincing reason. The law does not prevent a voter from taking a photo (allegedly to show the briber) but then requesting a new ballot, and voting differently on the new, replacement ballot, and casting that replacement ballot. Here is the Opinion.

Filing has closed for the June 2026 California top-two primary. The gubernatorial candidates of the Socialist Workers Party and of the American Solidarity Party each qualified, although the law won’t allow their party names to be listed on the ballot. The candidates are Margaret Trowe for the Socialist Workers Party, and Duane Loynes for the ASP.