According to this story, the bill to revive the statewide initiative in Mississippi is in trouble. The bill passed both houses of the legislature, but the version in each house was different. The story says the conference committee was unable to agree on a single version of the bill. However, the story also says there is a small chance that the bill can still be saved.
On March 28, the Hawaii legislature passed HB 1471, which slightly eases the procedure for a new party to get on the ballot. Existing law says the petition to recognize a party should ask the signer to show his or her entire date of birth. The bill changes that column on the petition, so only the month and day would be needed.
On March 29, the Illinois proponents of a statewide initiative filed this reply brief in Wagner v White. This is the case over whether a 2022 statewide initiative should be allowed to use electronic signatures. They were permitted in 2020 in Illinois.
The Yonkers Times has this article about ballot access in New York state. The article is very long, but it does not mention that there are two lawsuits pending against the current ballot access laws. The case against the 2020 restrictions that tripled the statewide petition and more than tripled the vote test is pending in the Second Circuit. The case against the 2019 law that moved the petition deadline from August to May is pending in U.S. District Court in the western district.
On March 28, the Tennessee House passed SB2616, which requires congressional candidates to have lived in the state three years before running. This bill is clearly unconstitutional. Courts have been invalidating residency requirements for congressional candidates for a century. Thanks to PoliticalWire for the news. The vote in the House was 70-18. Now the bill goes to the Governor.
