Just before adjourning, the Florida legislature passed an omnibus election law bill, SB 7066. It moves the non-presidential primary from ten weeks before the general election, to eleven weeks before. Therefore, assuming the Governor signs the bill, the 2020 primary will be August 18, not August 25.

The bill also alters the prohibited zone at the polls for persons engaging in First Amendment activity. The old law required petitioners, canvassers, and pamphleteers to stand at least 100 feet from the entrance to a polling place. The bill changes that to 150 feet. It is conceivable that this change could be held unconstitutional.

The bill also legalizes the practice of a voter photographing his or her own voted ballot.

On April 30, the Colorado legislature passed HB 19-1278, an omnibus election law bill. Among many other provisions, it makes independent candidate petition requirements (except for president) more severe. Most of the non-presidential statewide offices rise from 1,000 signatures to 7,000 signatures. State Board of Education and Regent statewide petitions rise from 1,000 to 3,500 signatures. U.S. House rises from 800 to 1,500. State Senate from 600 to 1,000. State House 400 to 1,000.

The bill does not affect the requirements for creating a new ballot-qualified party, except to move the deadline for a group to show that it has the needed 1,000 registered members from July 1 to April 1.

Many groups tried to stop the ballot access requirements from rising, but the only relief was that an earlier version of the bill set most of the statewide petitions at 10,500, but that was lowered to 7,000. However the bill still has a very difficult U.S. House district distribution requirement. Statewide petitions need 1,000 from each of the U.S. House districts. Furthermore, if Colorado gains a U.S. House seat after the 2020 census, the statewide requirement automatically rises to 8,000.

Although the bill technically makes the independent presidential petition requirement more difficult, that is a meaningless change, because it will still be possible for independent presidential candidates to get on the ballot without any petition, by paying $1,000.

U.S. District Court Judge Mark Walker will hold a trial in Jacobson v Detzler, n.d., 4:18cv-262, on July 15, Monday, at 8:15 a.m. This is the case over the Florida law that determines the order of candidates on general election ballots. The law says the party that won the last gubernatorial election enjoys the top spot on the ballot for all its nominees. Republicans have won every Florida gubernatorial election starting in 1998, but in each of the last three elections, the margin was by less than 1%. The national Democratic Party brought this lawsuit last year.

The trial would have been on July 1, but the intervenors from the national Republican Party had a scheduling conflict. They are the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Republican Governor’s Association.

The final briefs on each side are due May 7.