On May 9, the Tennessee Senate passed HB 794 by a vote of 24-9. This is the bill that makes only slight improvements in ballot access for new and minor parties. The bill deletes the requirement that the petition say that the signers are members. It moves the petition deadline from March to early April. But it leaves the same number of signatures that the old law required, 2.5% of the last gubernatorial vote, which would be 40,042 signatures in 2012.

Last year, a U.S. District Court in Tennessee invalidated the old law. The decision says, concerning deadlines, “The 6th Circuit cited and relied upon decisions in other Circuits and district courts holding State deadlines of 60 days and 90 days prior to a primary as creating burdens for minor political parties and voters. 462 F.3d at 586 (citing Council of Alternative Parties v Hooks), 121 F.3d 876,880 (3d Cir. 1997)(60 days deadline before primary an undue burden because ‘the election is remote and voters were generally uninterested in the campaign.’))…Other district courts in this Circuit have stricken state deadlines for lesser periods of time than Tennessee’s 120 days deadline. See Libertarian Party of Kentucky v Ehrler, 776 F.Supp. 1200, 1205-06 (E.D. Ky. 1991)(holding deadline of 119 prior to the primary an unconstitutional burden on voters and minor political parties); Cripps v Seneca Co. Bd. of Elections, 629 F.Supp. 1335, 1338 (N.D. Ohio 1985)(deadline of 75 days before the primary for independent candidates violates the First Amendment).”

The Tennessee bill still leaves a deadline of 120 days between the petition deadline and the August primary, so the bill, if signed into law, will still be unconstitutional.