Maine Bill to Allow Independent Voters to Vote in Primaries Finally Passes

Posted on by April 28, 2022
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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.

New York Statewide Independent Petitions Must Have 500 Signatures in Half the U.S. House Districts, But U.S. House Districts Are Upended

Posted on by April 27, 2022
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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.

Missouri Candidate Sues State Over Late U.S. House Redistricting

Posted on by April 27, 2022
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On April 22, a Republican candidate for U.S. House in Missouri filed a federal lawsuit, complaining that the legislature has still not passed any U.S. House redistricting bill. Berry v Ashcroft, e.d., 4:22cv-465. Here is the Complaint.

Missouri is the only state in which the legislature hasn’t yet passed a bill for U.S. House redistricting (except, obviously, the states that only have one seat).

Georgia Newspaper Story about Libertarian Attempt to Get on 2022 Ballot for One U.S. House Seat

Posted on by April 27, 2022
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This news story concerns Angela Pence, the Libertarian nominee for U.S. House in Georgia’s 14th district U.S. House race. She needs about 23,000 valid signatures and has 4,000 so far. The deadline is in mid-July. As the article explains, no minor party candidate for a regularly-scheduled U.S. House election has ever appeared on the ballot since before 1943, the year the current law was passed.

The article does not say that the lawsuit against that law is still alive. Nor does it mention the fact that two Georgia precedents say that when the petition period is shorter than usual, due to late redistricting, the requirement must be relaxed.