On March 11, the Delaware Senate Executive Committee heard Delaware HB 65. It moves the non-presidential primary from September to the date of the presidential primary, whatever that date of the presidential primary turns out to be; the bill doesn’t specify. Currently the Delaware presidential primaries are in April but they might be moved to an earlier month. HB 65 passed the House last year. Delaware has two-year legislative sessions.

If this bill passes, the deadline for a group to qualify a new party will be much earlier, possibly even as early as January of the election year. This is because the deadline for a new party to qualify is tied to the date of the non-presidential primary. Delaware is in the Third Circuit, which ruled in 1997 in Council of Alternative Parties v Hooks that the New Jersey deadline for new party candidates could not be earlier than the date of the non-presidential primary. 121 F 3d 876.