New Hampshire Bills to Injure Ballot Access

Posted on by January 19, 2021
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Three New Hampshire state representatives have introduced HB 98, which would move the non-presidential primary from September to the first Tuesday in June. If the bills passed as written, the petition deadline for independent candidates and the nominees of unqualified parties would move from August to May, because existing law ties those petition deadlines to the date of the non-presidential primary. And the date for independent candidates, and the nominees of unqualified parties, to file a declaration of candidacy would move from June to March.

Another bill by another author, HB 97, would move the non-presidential primary from September to August. Thanks to Daryl Perry for this news.

Arizona Election Law Bills

Posted on by January 19, 2021
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Several interesting Arizona bills concerning elections have been introduced.

HB 2314, by Representative John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills), would allow election officials to omit the names of presidential elector candidates from general election ballots. Arizona is the most populous state that still prints the names of presidential elector candidates on ballots.

SB 1203, by four Democratic legislators, would require the presidential nominees of political parties to submit their income tax returns for the last five years, or forfeit ballot access. The bill does not include independent presidential candidates. A somewhat similar California law was declared unconstitutional last year in U.S. District Court.

HB 2181, also by Rep. Kavanagh, would move the deadline for filing as a write-in candidate from 40 days before the election, to 76 days before. It would also require write-in candidates to have lived in the jurisdiction for at least 120 days before filing. As applied to congress, this would be unconstitutional.

New York Contested U.S. House Race Boils Down to About 70 Voters Whose Voter Registrations Were Not Processed

Posted on by January 18, 2021
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This newspaper story says the contested U.S. House race in New York’s 22nd district turns on whether about 70 voters should have their ballots counted. They registered to vote on time, at the Motor Vehicles office. But the county didn’t process their applications in time because the County Board of Elections was overwhelmed with work. Thanks to Joe Burns for the link.

Useful Chart Showing Dates When 2021 Legislatures Convene

Posted on by January 18, 2021
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The National Conference of State Legislatures has this useful chart showing when each state’s legislature convenes in 2021. People who care about ballot access in their own state should be now seeking legislators willing to introduce bills to improve the ballot access laws, especially in states like Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming, all states with major ballot access problems. Thanks to Thomas Jones for the link.

U.S. District Court Won’t Issue Temporary Restraining Order Against Maine Ban on Out-of-State Initiative Petitioners

Posted on by January 17, 2021
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On January 11, U.S. District Court Judge John A. Woodcock, a Bush Jr.. appointee, declined to issue a Temporary Restraining Order blocking the Maine ban on initiative petitioners who don’t live in Maine and aren’t registered in Maine. We the People PAC v Bellows, 1:20cv-489.

The judge wrote, “Even though the plaintiffs raised serious legal issues, because the caselaw in this area is nuanced, because the plaintiffs failed to provide a sufficient uncontested factual record, and because the plaintiffs delayed bringing this lawsuit, they failed to sustain their burden…Thus the Court dismisses without prejudice the motion for a temporary restraining order.” The issue of the law’s constitutionality will proceed, but in the meantime the initiative proponents who brought the lawsuit won’t have any immediate relief. See the 46-page order.