On February 14, both houses of the Tennessee legislature passed SB 1820, which prevents local governments from using ranked choice voting for elections for their own officers. The vote was 74-19. All Republican representatives voted for the bill. In the House, among the 26 Democrats, 6 voted “yes”, one didn’t vote, and the other nineteen voted “no.” In the Senate the vote was 26-4.
On February 14, Ohio informed the U.S. Supreme Court that it doesn’t expect to respond to the cert petition in Thompson v DeWine, 21-1120, the case over whether the state should have granted petitioning relief for initiative petitions during the Covid crisis. Of course if the Court wants Ohio to respond, it will inform the state, and then the state would respond.
On February 1, the Florida Senate Ethics & Elections Committee passed SB 524 by 5-3. Among other provisions, it bans local governments from using ranked choice voting for elections for their own officers.
This poll for the Arkansas gubernatorial general election suggests a candidate who is not either the Republican nor Democratic nominee would receive 7.5%. It is very likely that the Libertarian Party nominee will be the only person on the general election ballot, other than the Republican and Democratic nominees. A party must poll at least 3% for the office at the top of the ballot to retain its qualified status. The last time a third party polled well enough in Arkansas to remain ballot-qualified was in 1996, when Ross Perot’s showing kept the Reform Party on the ballot.
On February 14, some Kansas voters filed a lawsuit in state court against the new U.S. House district boundaries. Alonzo v Schwab, Wyandotte Co. District Court, 2022-cv-000090. The lawsuit charges the new boundaries violate the state Constitution, both because they are a racial gerrymander and a partisan gerrymander. Here is the Complaint.
