Texas Representative Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park) has introduced HB 4439, which eases ballot access for independent candidates and minor parties. The statewide petition for independent candidates and new parties would be exactly 10,000 signatures.
Stevan Shepard has this interesting article at Politico, about the difficulty pollsters have with the race for the 2020 Democratic presidential race. Because entry to the party-sponsored debates depends on candidates polling at least 1%, pollsters feel a moral obligation to include every candidate who might plausibly get 1%. But, it isn’t easy for pollsters to ask respondents to choose from a list of twenty or more names.
The Clerk of the U.S. House has just electronically published Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2018. See it here. Thanks to Thomas Jones for the link.
On March 11, Alaska Representative Ivy Spohnholz (D-Anchorage) introduced HB 90. It eases the number of registrations needed for a group to be a qualified political party, to exactly 5,000. Currently the registration test is 3% of the last vote cast, which is now 8,358. The only qualified parties in Alaska currently are Republican, Democratic, and Alaskan Independence. Although the Alaskan Independence Party has many registered members, it did not have any nominees in 2018.
If HB 90 is signed into law, the Libertarian Party would regain its qualified status, and it would be easier for the Green Party to also regain its status, and for the Constitution Party to become qualified for the first time in Alaska.
On March 11, the New Mexico Senate Rules Committee passed HB 407, the omnibus election law bill. Among other provisions, it lowers the number of signatures for independent candidates. The bill has already passed the House. Thanks to Rick Lass for this news.
