On April 20, the Michigan House Elections & Ethics Committee heard testimony on HB 4319 and HB 4320, which would provide that each U.S. House district elect its own presidential elector. The authors are Representatives Beau Matthew LaFave (R-Iron Mountain) and Jeff Yaroch (R-Richmond). See this story. The Committee hasn’t voted yet on the bills.
On April 20, the North Dakota legislature passed SB 2271, on the subject of the National Popular Vote Plan. Originally the bill provided that North Dakota election officials would not release the state’s presidential vote totals until after the electoral college had voted in mid-December. But the bill was amended before it passed. Now it says that the legislature opposes the National Popular Vote Plan, and during the next year it will study how to prevent the plan from being enacted. It also calls on Congress not to approve the plan, should enough states pass it so that it goes into effect. Here is the text.
On April 17, Idaho Governor Brad Little signed SB 1110, which requires that statewide initiatives obtain the signatures of 6% of the voters in all 35 legislative districts. Idaho thus becomes the first state in history to require an initiative to show support in every legislative district. See this story.
The Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives has now published “Statistics of the Presidential & Congressional Election of November 3, 2020” in booklet form. It is 79 pages. Anyone may receive a free copy by phoning 202-226-5200.
The Clerk has been publishing similar books for 100 years now, every two years.
On April 21, the Texas House Elections Committee passed HB 1987, which is authored by Representative Cody Vasut (R-Angleton). It says that a party chair cannot be a candidate for elective office, or an office-holder. The vote was 5-4.
The bill would be unconstitutional under Eu v San Francisco County Central Committee, 489 US 214 (1989). That unanimous decision strikes down California laws on who can be a state party chairperson, under Freedom of Association. Furthermore, as to congressional candidates, the bill would violate the U.S. Supreme Court decision U.S. Term Limits v Thornton, which says states can’t add to the qualifications for congressional candidates. Thanks to Jim Riley for the news about the bill.
