The New York legislature adjourned on June 21.  Among election law bills that did not pass are:

1. Bills to keep presidential candidates off the ballot if they don’t release their income tax returns

2. Bills to remove party logos from the ballot

3. A bill to prevent parties from using the word “Independence” in its name

4. A bill to make it more difficult for parties to obtain and keep qualified status

5. Bills to make it possible for candidates to remove themselves from the general election ballot.  The authors of these bills are motivated by the problem that qualified minor parties frequently nominate candidates who then lose a major party primary, so then those candidates don’t want to run in November under their minor party label, but under existing law it is tough for them to remove themselves from that November ballot.