On June 20, Maine Governor Janet Mills signed LD 1626, which sets up presidential primaries in Maine. They do not involve ranked choice voting. The primary is voluntary and parties must decide whether to use them. Parties also must decide whether or not to let independents vote in their presidential primaries. Thanks to Josh Putnam for this news.
According to this story, it is virtually certain that Congress will not raise its own pay this year. Every time congressional salaries rise, filing fees in some states go up, because some states set the filing fee as a percentage of the annual salary of the office being sought.
The U.S.. Supreme Court opinions on partisan gerrymandering will probably be released either Friday June 21, or Monday June 24. No election law cases were issued on June 20.
On June 19, the Pennsylvania State Government Committee passed SB 300. It says that an independent voter, at the polls on primary day, may choose a partisan primary ballot and vote. The voter’s choice is then recorded on his or her registration, but the voter is deemed to be a member of that party only on primary day, and afterwards is automatically considered an independent voter again.
Current law does not permit independent voters to vote in any partisan primary.
On June 19, the California Assembly Elections Committee passed both bills that alter the California presidential primaries. SB 27 requires candidates to reveal the last five years of their tax returns. SB 505 requires presidential candidates who want to be in a presidential primary to sign a declaration, and also fulfill at least one particular act to show that the candidate is serious. The easiest such act is to have qualified for the presidential primary in one other state.
SB 27, concerning tax returns, clearly violates the State Constitution, which says that “recognized” candidates will be on a presidential primary ballot. It defies our common vocabulary to say that President Donald Trump (assuming he continues to withhold his tax returns from public disclosure) is not a “recognized” presidential candidate. I testified about the State Constitution at the hearing, but no legislator reacted to that point. The bill passed with all Democrats, but no Republicans, voting “yes.”
