On March 8, the Tennessee House Local Government Committee passed HB 2067. It lowers the petition to recognize a new party from 2.5% of the last gubernatorial vote, to one-half of 1%. It also lowers the vote test for a party to retain its status from 5% to 1%.
The Southland Journal of Chicago has this mention of the U.S. District Court decision last week, putting Libertarians on the ballot for Cook County Commissioner. Although the Southland Journal merely reprinted the party’s press release, that is the first periodical in Illinois to mention the outcome.
On March 7, U.S. District Court Judge Steven Grimberg declined to enjoin statewide elections for Public Service Commissioner in Georgia. Rose v Raffensperger, n.d., 1:20cv-2921. The plaintiffs argued that the federal Voting Rights Act requires that Georgia convert these partisan elections into district elections, with each district electing one commissioner. Here is the order.
According to this story, some high-level Democrats in Utah don’t want the Democratic Party to run its own nominee for U.S. Senate this year. They support independent candidate Evan McMullin.
On March 7, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene in the Pennsylvania and North Carolina redistricting disputes. Republicans in both states had asked for U.S. Supreme Court intervention, and the Republican National Committee had filed amicus briefs. The Wisconsin case is still pending.
