On February 14, West Virginia bill SB 733 passed the State Senate by 24-7. It expands the definition of a qualified party, from a group that got 1% for Governor, to a group that got 1% for either President or Governor. West Virginia elects both offices in the same years. Thanks to Jeff Becker for this news.
The Legal Marijuana Now Party has more than enough signatures to become a ballot-qualified party in Nebraska, although it plans to delay submitting the signatures for several months. Thanks to Mark Elworth for this news. The party is already a qualified party in Minnesota.
On February 13, the Oregon House passed HB 4026 by 43-15. This is the bill that eases the registration test for a party to remain on the ballot, from one-half of 1% of the state total, to one-fourth of 1% of the state total. It has no effect on the alternate vote test, that a party poll 1% of the vote for any statewide race at either of the last two elections.
The bill was requested by the Working Families Party, which can’t make use of the alternate vote test for remaining on, since it virtually never has its own nominees for statewide office.
Currently the Working Families Party has 9,464 registrants, which is .34% of the statewide registration total.
The Montana Green Party is not on the ballot, and it would need 5,000 signatures by early March to gain party status. A petition to qualify the party is circulating, even though the party itself did not initiate it. See this news story.
Meanwhile, a U.S. District Court is considering whether the existing law is unconstitutional. The law requires an unequal number of signatures from at least one-third of all the state house districts. That case is Montana Green Party v Stapleton, 6:18cv-87. The news story does not mention the lawsuit.
The Green Party had been expecting to circulate a petition to place the party’s presidential nominee on the ballot. That petition also requires 5,000 signatures, but is not due until August. It allows a party label. That is the procedure the party used to get Jill Stein on the ballot in Montana in 2016.
On February 13, the Utah House passed HB 70 by 46-26. It repeals the straight-ticket device. See this story.
