On January 4, the Republican National Committee gave preliminary approval to a rules change, requiring the Republican presidential nominee not to participate in the general election debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates. The change won’t be final it is approved again in the summer of 2022. Thanks to Thomas Jones for this news.
On February 3, the New Mexico Senate passed SB 6, the omnibus election law bill. Here is a copy. In section 60 of the bill is a provision requiring write-in candidates in the general election to submit a petition signed by 1% of the last vote cast, if they want their write-ins counted. The bill passed unanimously and there has been no publicity about this virtual ban on write-ins.
On January 30, Portugal held an election for Assembly of the Republic, the nation’s national legislative body. Ten parties won at least one seat, under the proportional representation system. See this wikipedia article.
A recent poll on the Nevada top-five initiative shows that 35% of voters support it, 35% oppose it, and 30% are undecided. However, when asked about intensity, more voters are strongly opposed than strongly in support. See this story. Thanks to Fairvote for the link.
Late at night on January 2, Alabama filed this reply brief in Merrill v Milligan, 21A375, the Alabama U.S. House redistricting case.
