On June 25, the Party for Socialism & Liberation submitted its petition for party status in New Mexico. Most of its signatures had been collected before the health crisis began.
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On June 26, the U.S. House passed HR 51, the bill to make almost all of Washington, D.C., a state. The vote was 232-180. This is the first time such a bill has ever passed either house of Congress. One Democrat voted “no”, and Libertarian Justin Amash voted “no.” All Republicans voted “no”.
Ian Milhiser has this article at Vox about all the details regarding possible statehood for the District of Columbia. The last part of the article is especially interesting, concerning legal issues.
The article also has a map showing the proposed boundaries of the new state. The new state would not encompass the entire District.
On June 25, U.S. District Court Judge Diane Humetewa, an Obama appointee, dismissed the lawsuit Mecinas v Hobbs, 2:19cv-5547, on standing grounds. This is the lawsuit in which various elements of the Democratic Party challenge the Arizona law on order of candidates on the general election ballot. The ruling says none of the plaintiffs have standing. There were no candidate-plaintiffs in this lawsuit. Here is the decision.
The existing law says within each county, the nominees of the party that polled the highest vote for Governor should be listed first. In 2018, the Republican nominee for Governor in eleven of the fifteen counties polled the highest vote, so in 2020 all Republican nominees will be listed first in eleven counties. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the news.
On June 25, the Maine Libertarian Party asked U.S. District Court Judge Lance E. Walker to reconsider part of his ballot access ruling of June 11. Baines v Dunlap, 1:19cv-509. Here is the request.