On April 8, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued an opinion in Re: the Nomination Petitions of Rania Major, 15 EAP 2021. It holds that a signature on a petition is invalid unless the signer lists the address at which he or she is registered. Here is the 13-page opinion.

A few years ago the same court came to the opposite conclusion, but in 2019 the statute was amended. The old statute said signers should show their “residence” address on the petition. The new law says they should show the address at which they are registered.

On April 8, the New Hampshire House passed HB 98 by a vote of 195-174. It moves the non-presidential primary from September to the fourth Tuesday in June.

The bill has the effect of moving the petition deadline for independent candidates, and the nominees of unqualified parties, from August to May. It would also move the declaration of candidacy for such candidates to March. That would violate an opinion of the First Circuit, Anderson v Quinn, 634 F 2d 616, which struck down Maine’s April petition deadline in 1980. New Hampshire is in the First Circuit. See this news story. Thanks to Darryl Perry for this news. The bill now goes to the State Senate.

There are three lawsuits pending in U.S. District Court against the New York 2020 definition of a qualified political party. One is filed by the SAM Party, one by the Working Families Party, and one by the Libertarian and Green Parties. They will have an oral argument on April 28. The state is arguing that the three cases should be dismissed without the need for a trial.