The Gothamist has more details about the efforts of some Democratic Party leaders in New York state to sharply toughen the definition of a qualified party.

None of the press in New York state has yet explained that 39 states have a procedure by which a group can transform itself into a qualified party in advance of any particular election, by doing some task, such as a petition. But New York is not one of those states. There is no party petition procedure in New York.

Courts would be less willing to strike down the New York proposal if there were such a procedure. Taking the Working Families Party as an example, if the vote test were so severe that it went off the ballot, but if New York had such a procedure, it could regain its qualified status quickly. But in New York, it can’t.

On October 29, the Pennsylvania legislature passed SB 421. It eliminates the straight-ticket device, legalizes early voting by mail, eases the deadline to register to vote, and also liberalizes the deadline for absentee ballots to arrive in the elections office. See this story.

On October 29, the British House of Commons voted to hold a general parliamentary election on December 12, 2019. See this story. Thanks to Thomas Jones for the link.