On May 24, the California Senate passed SB 660, which outlaws paying initiative petition circulators on a per-signature basis. The vote was 28-11. All Republicans voted against it, and two Democrats, Senators Anna Caballero and Steven Glazer, also voted against it. In the past these bills have passed with no opposition from any Democratic legislators.
The last three Governors, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jerry Brown, and Gavin Newsom, have always vetoed these bills.
Matt Welch of Reason Magazine has this op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, saying it is almost impossible to launch a new party in the U.S. His piece is in reference to anti-Trump Republicans who say they are thinking about starting a new party.
According to Illinois Politico Playbook, there is talk that the Illinois legislature will pass a bill moving the 2022 primary from March to a later date. This is because there is so little time for new U.S. House and state legislative districts to be drawn. See here.
Moving the Illinois primary to a later date would not affect the petition deadline for new and previously unqualified parties, nor independent candidates, because the law ties the petition deadline to a number of days in advance of the general election. Specifically the independent and minor party petition deadline is 134 days before the November election.
According to the California Target Book, sixty individuals have said they are intending to run for Governor of California in the 2021 recall. They include 28 Republicans, 11 Democrats, 16 who are not members of a qualified party, two Libertarians, two Greens, and one member of the American Independent Party. Thanks to Politico California Playbook for this news.
No one has officially filed yet because the election date isn’t set yet.
The Socialist Workers Party will attempt to place Dennis Richter on the California 2021 gubernatorial recall ballot. Assuming he gets on the ballot, his ballot label will say “Party preference: none”, whereas members of qualified parties will have their party label on the ballot.
It is not certain when the recall election will be. Although most people assume it will be in November, there is some support in the legislature among Democrats to pass a bill that would make it several months earlier, even possibly as early as August.
