On February 12, the Wyoming House defeated HB 160 by 17-43. It would have revised the law on the order of candidates on general election ballots. Currently the nominees of the party that won the last U.S. House election are automatically on the top line of the general election ballot. The bill would have changed that, so that any candidate would have an equal opportunity to appear first on the ballot. The bill’s sponsor is Representative Marshall Burt, the state’s only Libertarian legislator.

Here is a link to the legislature’s website that shows how each state house member voted. Click on “votes.” Then click on “H 3rd Reading Failed”.

Counterpunch has a new article about the harm done to minor parties by HR One, the bill in Congress to change many election laws. This one is also by Howie Hawkins, the Green Party presidential nominee in 2020. The article is balanced and acknowledges the helpful parts of the bill. The article also has a list of reforms that should have been included in the bill. The Green Party is doing a very good job of publicizing the harmful aspect of the bill. No daily newspaper has even mentioned that the bill makes it much harder for presidential candidates to qualify for primary season matching funds. Thanks to Fairvote for the link.

This New York Times article says that China is imposing ballot access restrictions in Hong Kong, to prevent pro-democracy activists from being allowed into the election.