Utah SB 91 will not pass the Utah legislature this year, according to this news story. It would have ended the nomination process now in place, in which candidates can get on primary ballots either by winning at a state party meeting, or petitioning to get on the primary ballot.
On February 26, the Mississippi House Constitution Committee passed HCR 47. It the legislature passes it, then the voters would be asked if they want to amend the State Constitution to delete the requirement that a winning gubernatorial candidate must carry a majority of state house districts. Instead the voters would simply choose the Governor without regard to where the votes come from. If no one got a majority in the general election, there would be a run-off two weeks later.
The Washington Post and other media are reporting that for the first time, there are fewer registered Republicans in the U.S. than there are registered independents. This news originated with the March 1 2020 print edition of Ballot Access News, which is in the postal mail to subscribers.
See this story.
The NAACP recently sued two Georgia counties over election-administration issues. On February 27 it sued Gwinnett County because the county is allowing only one location for early voting, in the first week. Gwinnett County NAACP v Gwinnett County Board of Registration & Elections. It is assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Steven Grimberg, a Trump appointee.
On February 26 it sued DeKalb County over purges of the voter registration rolls. Georgia State Conference of the NAACP v DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections, n.d., 1:20cv-879. It is assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Eleanor L. Ross, an Obama appointee.
California Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno) has introduced AB 2207. It provides for a “public presidential primary ballot” in addition to the existing presidential primary ballots. It would list every candidate from every party who is running in the ordinary presidential primary. Any voter could choose to use this public presidential primary ballot instead of an ordinary presidential primary ballot. However, the results would not count, because the public presidential primary ballot would have no association with any slate of delegates to any party’s national convention.
