West Virginia State Senator Eric J. Tarr (R-Putnam) has introduced SB 90. It deletes the law that lets parties decide for themselves whether to let independents vote in their own primaries. The bill would be unconstitutional if it became law. In 1986 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Tashjian v Republican Party of Connecticut that the First Amendment requires states to let parties choose to invite independents to vote in their primaries, if they wish.
Twenty-two Wisconsin legislators have introduced AB 223. It would forbid out-of-state individuals to circulate candidate petitions, although the restriction would not apply to petitions for presidential candidates.
The South Dakota Senate State Affairs Committee has introduced SB 33. It is mostly a clean-up bill, but it makes some changes for independent presidential candidates. It changes the formula for the number of signatures from 1% of the last gubernatorial vote, to one-half of 1% of the number of registered voters as of December of the year before the election.
If this bill had been in effect in 2024, the number of signatures would have been 3,130 instead of 3,502.
Also the bill sets forth procedures for an independent presidential candidate to replace the vice-presidential running mate.
Arizona Representative Lupe Diaz (R-Benson) has introduced HB 2789. It would let candidates for state and local office pay a filing fee instead of submitting a petition. The bill applies equally to all candidates, including independent candidates. The bill does not specify the size of the filing fees, but leaves it up to the Secretary of State to determine the amounts.
The bill does not apply to presidential or congressional elections.
Two bills have been introduced in the Indiana legislature to abolish the straight-ticket device. They are HB 1218 by Representative Ed Clere (R-New Albany) and HB 1133 by Representative Cory Criswell (R-Middletown).
Also there is a bill to expand the existing straight-ticket device to include local at-large partisan elections, and school board elections. Those offices are currently not included in the device, which leads to confusion. That bill is HB 1377 by Representative Zach Payne (R-Charlestown).
