On March 10, the Tennessee House Elections & Campaign Finance Subcommittee of the Local Government Committee defeated HB 609. It would have lowered the petition to recognize a new party from 2.5% of the last gubernatorial vote, to .5%. It also would have lowered the vote test for retention of party status from 5% for any statewide race, to 1% for Governor.

The author was Representative Bud Hulsey (R-Kingsport).

An identical bill, SB 651, is pending in the State Senate. It is sponsored by Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon).

On March 25, the Georgia House passed SB 202, which changes many election laws. One of the changes is that overseas absentee voters would use ranked choice voting. This makes it possible for the state to hold general election runoffs four weeks after the November election, instead of nine weeks. This is because federal law requires states to give lots of time for ballots to be received from overseas voters. But by using RCV, the state need not send a separate runoff ballot to overseas voters.

The bill also changes special elections for partisan office. Currently these elections have no party nominees, but the bill provides that parties in the future would have their own nominees in special elections.

Lots of other changes in the bill are described in this news story. Because the house and senate versions of the bill differ, the bill needs to return to the State Senate. The legislature adjourns March 31.

On March 2, the Montana State Senate passed SB 350. It curtails the means used in 2020 to keep the Green Party off the ballot. Specifically, it says that if voters wish to withdraw their names from a petition to qualify a new party, they must do so no later than the petition deadline.

In 2020, months after the Green Party petition had been certified, Democratic Party activists knocked on the doors of people who had signed the petition, and persuaded them to withdraw their signatures. Thus the Green Party was removed from the ballot in August, even though it had already held its own primary in June and had already nominated candidates.

On March 17, the House Administration Committee passed the bill. Here is the text.