On February 4, U.S. District Court Judge Eleanor Ross, an Obama appointee, refused the Secretary of State’s request to dismiss Palast v Kemp, n.d., 1:18cv-4809. Greg Palast, a journalist, had filed this case in 2018 to obtain the the “Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck” list of voters that was sent to the Georgia Secretary of State by Kris Kobach, former Kansas Secretary of State. Kobach had set up a method for state election officials to see how many of their state’s registered voters might also be registered in other states.

Federal law says records relating to voter registration must be retained for two years, but the state says it didn’t keep the list. Thanks to Thomas Jones for this news.

Politico has election returns for the New Hampshire Democratic and Republican primaries.

On February 6, the Utah Senate Government Operations & Political Subdivisions Committee passed SB 28 unanimously. It deletes a law that says the ballot label for independent candidates must include a clause that says the independent is “not qualified” to be a party nominee. The only independent candidate in Utah in 2018, a legislative candidate, learned that voters misunderstood that clause and that they seemed to think the ballot was saying she was not qualified for the office. She filed a federal lawsuit, but the state asked that the lawsuit be held in suspense until the 2020 legislature has a chance to repeal the clause.