On May 7, Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman signed LB 349, which, among other things, repeals the primary screen-out for independent presidential petitions. Now, Texas is the only state that bars primary voters from signing a ballot access petition. In Texas, primary voters can’t sign for an independent candidate for any office, nor can they sign for a newly-qualifying party.

At one time eleven states had primary screen-outs, but one by one they have all been repealed, except in Texas. Such laws once existed in Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Nebraska, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and West Virginia.