On March 5, supporters of a Missouri referendum concerning U.S. House districts said data from the various county election offices shows they have enough valid signatures statewide and also in five of the eight U.S. House districts. They need enough valid signatures in any six U.S. House districts. See this story.

If the Secretary of State would acknowledge this data, then the old districts would be in effect in the 2026 election. However, he does not.

U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-Montana) in this article responds to criticism that he didn’t tell anyone that he was retiring until minutes before the primary filing deadline closed. See this story.

Fortunately, in 2012, an independent candidate in Montana won a federal lawsuit against the old petition deadline for independent candidates. Kelly v McCulloch, cv-08-25, struck down the old independent candidate petition deadline, which had been the same day that primary candidates file. The legislature then changed the independent deadline to one week before the primary. That gives a chance for an independent candidate to enter this year’s Senate race.

On March 5, the Tennessee Republican Party notified the Secretary of State that it had removed 149 candidates from its May 2026 primary ballot. Many were removed because of a party rule that candidates must have voted in at least three of the last four statewide Republican primary ballots. Many others were removed because they didn’t pay filing fees to the party. These fees are not in state law, but the party promulgated them. The Democratic Party has no such fees. The Republican fees range as high as $5,000 for gubernatorial candidates. See this story.