Utah Governor Gary Herbert has refused to reduce primary petition requirements, even though he has already used his authority to revise another election law. He suspended the need for candidates to file in person. See this story. The story says a lawsuit is possible.
On March 24, Montana Republican Party officials said they had hired paid circulators to get the Green Party on the ballot earlier this year. The party says the effort cost $100,000. See this story.
The Chicago Tribune has this story about the problem that minor party and independent candidates will have with petitioning. The Illinois primary was earlier this month, and all primary petitioning for Republicans and Democrats was carried out last year, so they haven’t had the same problem. The article says it is not likely that the state government will do anything about the problem. A lawsuit filed by the Green and Libertarian Parties will probably be filed soon.
Politico has this useful map and article showing which states have banned large gatherings. Most states have done so. These bans impact the ability to petition, of course.
The Republican Party of Maine has been conducting a referendum petition to stop the use of ranked choice voting for president in the general election. The party needs approximately 63,000 valid signatures. According to this story, in order to continue to collect signatures, the party has set up centers at which voters may drive to the location and sign the petition without leaving their car. Thanks to Fairvote for the link.
