The print edition of Ballot Access News for March 1, 2023, will not be mailed out until March 1, Wednesday. There are three important legislative hearings on ballot access on Tuesday, February 28, and it seems desirable to be able to include news about those three hearings in that issue.
The three hearings are in New Hampshire, Arkansas (both for bills that help ballot access), and Minnesota (for a bill that injures it).
Can a party status petition in Arkansas not be started until the Arkansas legislature passes a new ballot access law?
It could be started now but because the law hasn’t changed yet, it would be subject to being completed in 3 months. It would not be rational to start now.
Is there a date by which the Arkansas legislature must pass a new law?
They go home in a few months. If they don’t pass anything, there is no valid law, because the old law on the number of signatures and the deadline is unconstitutional. So they will be highly motivated to pass something.
Delay appropriate.
What happens if there is no law passed?
The court would either put any party on the ballot that showed it had a modicum of public support, or might make up a temporary ballot access procedure.
These games would be completely unnecessary and irrelevant if my proposed election and government system were adopted.