On March 5, former New York city Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he will not run for president in 2020. He had already said that if he ran, it would be to seek the Democratic nomination. See this story.
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On March 5, the Hawaii Senate passed SB 94 by 20-4. It requires presidential candidates to reveal their income tax returns, and forbids presidential electors from voting for anyone who hasn’t released the returns.
On March 5, the California Libertarian Party state committee resolved to oppose California SB 27. It requires candidates in presidential primaries to reveal the last five years of their income tax forms, if they were required to file such forms. The California Libertarian Party is directly affected by this law, because the state has been providing a presidential primary for the party starting in 1980.
SB 27 has a hearing in the Senate Elections Committee on March 19. If it is signed into law, it takes effect immediately. A similar bill was vetoed by Governor Jerry Brown a few years ago, but Brown is no longer Governor.
The idea that the New York legislature might end fusion has drawn reactions from non-New Yorkers. This New York Times story mentions that Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have expressed support for New York’s existing law. The story does not mention it, but both Vermont and Massachusetts also allow fusion, via write-ins in primaries.
Many opponents of fusion claim that New York is one of only three or four states that permits fusion. But actually, fusion is permitted (although sometimes in a restrictive way) in Connecticut, Idaho, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Vermont. Also fusion is permitted for president in approximately half the states. Many state anti-fusion laws do not apply to presidential electors. For example, in 2016, Donald Trump was listed on the ballot in California as “Donald J. Trump, Republican, American Independent.” Thanks to Steve Kamp for the link.
On March 4, Washington HB 5273 passed the House by 54-42. It had already passed the Senate. It moves the presidential primary from May to March. It also gives the parties that hold presidential primaries a list of all the voters who choose that party’s presidential primary ballot. Thanks to Steve Kamp for this news.