Minnesota Senator Kent Eken (DFL-Twin Valley) has introduced SF 2807, which makes two ballot access improvements. It deletes the language on the petition for independent candidates and the nominees of unqualified parties that says the signer doesn’t intend to vote in the upcoming primary. And it reduces the number of signatures on such petitions in special elections, when the petitioning period is shorter than usual. The Secretary of State backs this bill and its provisions seems likely to pass, whether in the bill or else placed into another election law bill. Thanks to S. L. Malleck and Jim Ivey for this news.
UPDATE: the provisions of SF 2807 have been merged into SF 2381, the bill to provide for a presidential primary in the future.
A better solution would be to get rid of partisan primaries, which eliminates the issue of someone promoting the advancement of multiple candidates.
I’ve always hated it when petitions say something like, “The signers of this petition are intending to form a new political party…” Wording like this makes it sounds like there is more commitment from a petition signature than there really is, and it scares some people out of signing.