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Filing Closes for Mississippi State Election of 2019

Posted on March 4, 2019 by Richard WingerMarch 4, 2019

Mississippi elects all its state officers in November 2019. Here is the list of candidates. The filing deadline is the same for everyone, except for president, but of course the 2019 election has nothing to do with presidential elections. The filing deadline this year was March 1, 2019.

There are no Reform Party nominees. This is surely because the leader of the Mississippi Reform Party, Shawn O’Hara, died last year, and he was the party’s candidate recruiter.

The Constitution Party is running Bob Hickingbottom for Governor. The Libertarian Party has two legislative candidates. No other third parties have any candidates. There are many independent candidates for the legislature, and one independent is running for Governor.

U.S. Supreme Court Won’t Hear Utah Republican Party Appeal

Posted on March 4, 2019 by Richard WingerMarch 4, 2019

On March 4, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Utah Republican Party v Cox, 18-450, the case over the extent to which state government can tell parties how to nominate.

Utah Bill to Repeal Straight-Ticket Device Passes House

Posted on March 3, 2019 by Richard WingerMarch 3, 2019

On March 1, the Utah House passed HB 259 by 48-21. This is the bill to eliminate the straight-ticket device.

New Hampshire Bill on Eligibility for Presidential Primary Ballot Passes House

Posted on March 3, 2019 by Richard WingerMarch 3, 2019

On February 27, the New Hampshire House passed HB 588. It amends the law on who can file to run in a presidential primary. Current law says a candidate must be a registered member of that party. The bill adds that the candidate is also eligible if he or she is recognized as a candidate for the nomination of that party. Here is the text.

The existing law is irrational, because 19 states don’t have registration by party. But no one seems to have noticed the flaw in the law until 2016, when Bernie Sanders filed to run in the Democratic presidential primary, even though he is an independent, not a Democrat. He was allowed to file anyway, although someone did file a challenge against his ballot status.

Tennessee Bill for Closed Primaries Loses in House Committee

Posted on March 3, 2019 by Richard WingerMarch 3, 2019

On February 27, the Tennessee House State and Local Government Committee defeated HB 1273. It would have changed Tennessee from an open primary state to a closed primary state. Tennessee has always had open primaries and the voter registration form has never asked applicants to choose a party. The bill only got 2 votes in committee. Thanks to Michael Drucker for this news.