On March 23, the North Carolina Senate voted to override the gubernatorial veto of HB 100. The House had done the same on March 22, so the bill is now law. It contains two separate subjects. It moves the independent petition deadline for all office, even president, from June to April. And it makes trial court judicial posts partisan instead of non-partisan.

Moving the deadline for independent candidates to April will be held unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court decision Anderson v Celebrezze makes this clear. The legislature was very foolish to make this change, because there is already a federal lawsuit challenging the ballot access laws for independent candidates, and it will be very difficult for the state to defend itself. The case is Leifert v North Carolina State Board of Elections, m.d., 1:17cv-147, filed February 23, 2017.

The legislature was also foolish to provide that independent candidates for trial court judicial posts need a petition of 2% of the number of registered voters. The law for other district offices (legislature and U.S. House) requires independent candidates to submit a petition of 4% of the number of registered voters. The state will be hard-pressed to explain why its needs are satisfied with a 2% petition for some district offices, but a 4% petition for other district offices. Thanks to Kevin Hayes for the news.