California Bills Affecting Presidential Primary Ballot Access Pass Assembly Appropriations Committee

On April 22, the California Assembly Appropriations Committee passed the two bills that restrict ballot access for presidential primaries.  SB 27 prevents presidential candidates from appearing on the ballot if they don’t reveal the last five years of their income tax returns.  SB 505 makes it more difficult for presidential candidates to appear on presidential primary ballots.  Both bills now move to the Senate floor.

Staff of New York City Charter Revision Commission Recommends Ranked Choice Voting

On April 22, the staff of the New York city Charter Revision Commission recommended that the charter be amended to provide for Ranked Choice Voting.  See the report here.  The part about election changes begins on page eight.

The staff didn’t recommend that ranked choice voting be used specifically for primaries, or for general elections, or both.  But it stresses the value of using ranked choice voting for primaries because it would eliminate the need for runoff primaries.  Thanks to Michael Drucker for the link.

Brevard County Democratic Party Also Resolves to Let Independent Voters Vote in Florida Democratic Primaries

On April 17, the Brevard County Democratic Party resolved that the Florida Democratic Party should let independents vote in its primaries.  Brevard County is the ninth most populous county in Florida, and contains Melbourne and Cape Canaveral.  This resolution was earlier passed by the Miami-Dade County Democratic Party.  See this story.

The party has a First Amendment freedom of association right to decide for itself whether to let independents vote in its primaries; the state government cannot interfere.