New York state legislators and other influential actors have reached no consensus on whether to move the entire primary from June to August, or whether to have one primary in June for statewide, assembly and local offices, and a later primary for U.S. House and State Senate. The districts aren’t set yet for those last two offices. See this story.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul is pushing the legislature to amend the election law, regarding withdrawal of candidates, in time to take effect for this year’s primary, which is in June. See this story. The legislature seems disinclined to do that.
The April 28 issue of the Des Moines Register has this news story about the decision of a U.S. District court, striking down the March petition deadline for independent candidates and the nominees of unqualified parties. That decision was released on April 8. The Des Moines Register is the first daily newspaper in Iowa to mention this news.
On April 25, the Maine legislature passed LD 231, the bill to let independent voters choose a partisan primary ballot. This bill had passed the legislature in the spring of 2021, but then it had been placed on the Appropriations Table, which is a peculiar device used in Maine that prevents final passage of a bill until there is funding authority for it.
So, after almost a year, the recent action sends the bill to Governor Janet Mills, who is expected to sign it. Thanks to Open Primaries for this news.
Today’s decision by the New York State Court of Appeals means that new U.S. House district boundaries must be drawn. The law requires statewide independent petitions, and petitions for the nominees of unqualified parties, to include 500 signatures from each of half the U.S. House districts. The statewide independent petition period has already started. But the groups circulating these petitions, including the Libertarian and Green Parties, can hardly proceed, when the U.S. District boundaries are non-existent.
Perhaps the legislature will temporarily suspend the distribution requirement.
This article does not mention the independent petition problem, but it does explain some of the other consequences of the decision.
