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.
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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.”
On the afternoon of June 19, the Maine House passed LD 1083, which had been passed by the Senate earlier in the day. It provides for ranked choice voting for president, in primaries and also in the general election. But, the Senate then failed to pass the bill again, so it died. The legislature then adjourned. This revises the post made yesterday.
Use this link to see the California Assembly Elections Committee analysis of SB 505, the bill on how candidates get on a presidential primary ballot. The bill has a hearing in the Assembly Elections Committee on June 19, Wednesday.
The Peace & Freedom Party still opposes the bill, even though it was amended last month to make it easier for presidential candidates to get on a presidential primary ballot. The Green Party supports the bill. The Peace & Freedom Party’s main complaint is that the bill leaves ambiguous whether a presidential candidate can qualify to be on the presidential primary ballot of two different parties. PFP feels the bill should explicitly allow candidates to be on the presidential primary ballots of more than one party.