Jonah Goldberg Says Primaries Should Be Abolished

Posted on by June 1, 2021
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Jonah Goldberg has just written a piece for his publication, The Dispatch, that says the U.S. would be better off if there were no publicly-administered primaries. He says, “I think it’s madness that we are the only advanced democracy where the parties can’t pick their own candidates.” Electionlawblog links to the entire piece, but I have chosen to link to Electionlawblog because it highlights the remarks about primaries. The Dispatch piece itself has a lot more to say about other subjects as well.

Nevada Legislature Passes Bill that Injures Ballot Access

Posted on by May 31, 2021
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At approximately 11:30 p.m. on May 31, the Nevada legislature passed SB 292, the bill that makes it more difficult for new and previously unqualified parties to get on the ballot. The bill moves the petition deadline to late April, and imposes a severe distribution requirement.

The bill doesn’t take effect until January 1, 2022, so any party that is not now on the ballot might wish to complete the petition this year. The bill’s effective date for government officials to take certain administrative actions is immediate, but that doesn’t relate to completing the petition.

Nevada Assembly Passes Bill Making Ballot Access for New Parties More Difficult, but Deletes Straight-Ticket Device Portion of Bill

Posted on by May 31, 2021
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On May 31, the Nevada Assembly passed SB 292 by a party-line vote of 26-16. It moves the petition deadline for new and previously unqualified parties from May to April. It also requires the petition to include approximately 3,500 signatures from each of the four U.S. House districts.

But the bill is still not through the legislature, because the Assembly amended the bill to delete the straight-ticket device portion of the bill. Therefore, the Senate version of the bill and the Assembly version are different, and the Senate will now be asked if it agrees with the Assembly amendment. However, May 31 is the last day of the session. The legislature will probably be in session until midnight and it is tough to know whether the bill will pass.