Oklahoma State Senator Nathan Dahm (R-Broken Arrow) has introduced SB 30. It says no party may nominate a presidential candidate whose parents were not citizens when he or she was born, regardless that the candidate may have been born in the United States. Here is the text. Thanks to Richard Prawdzienski for this news.
Peace & Freedom Party member Ernesto Alexander Huerta is on the ballot for the March 2, 2021 California special election to fill the vacancy in the State Senate, 30th district. The district is in southwest Los Angeles County. The seat is vacant because the former State Senator, Holly Mitchell, resigned to take a seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
There will be seven candidates on the ballot. See the list here. The list includes three Democrats, two Republicans, and one independent.
On January 4, Congressmember Ralph Norman of South Carolina introduced HJR 12. It would amend the Constitution to impose term limits for members of Congress: 3 terms for U.S. House, and two for U.S. Senate. If enacted, service prior to the ratification would not be counted toward the limits. Thanks to Michael Drucker for this news.
On January 13, the Minnesota Secretary of State filed this brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in De La Fuente v Simon, 20-612. This is the case over the Minnesota law that says a political party with its own presidential primary may dictate which candidates appear on that ballot.
Illinois House of Representatives Speaker Michael Madigan has been defeated for re-election as Speaker. He had been Speaker ever since 1983, except for two years when Republicans had a majority in the House. Under Madigan’s reign, the Illinois ballot access laws were made worse by the legislature, and all legislative attempts to improve them were killed.
In 1985 the legislature passed a bill saying that petitions for independent candidates, and the nominees of unqualified parties, could not start to circulate until 90 days before the deadline. Before 1985, those petitions could start as early as the proponents wished.
In 1999, the legislature moved the petition deadline from August to June. As a result of these two changes, the number of minor party and independent candidates dropped substantially.
There have been some improvements in some Illinois ballot access laws during the last 28 years, but they were all brought about by lawsuits.
