Nevada National Popular Vote Plan Heard in Committee

On February 26, the Nevada Assembly Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections heard AB 186, the national popular vote plan bill. It has nine Assembly sponsors and three Senate sponsors, all Democrats. The hearing lasted two hours. See this story. Democrats have majorities in both houses of the legislature, and the Governor is a Democrat, so this bill is somewhat likely to pass. Thanks to PoliticalWire for this news.

New Mexico Bill for Semi-Closed Primaries is Defeated in House Judiciary Committee

On Saturday, March 2, the New Mexico House Judiciary Committee tabled HB 93 by a vote of 7-5. It would have let independent voters vote in the partisan primary of that voter’s choice. The bill had previously passed two other committees, the Consumer & Public Affairs Committee, and the State Government and Elections Committee.

The only surviving bill on this subject is SB 418, which would say that any party with its own primary is free to invite independent voters to vote in its primaries. That bill has passed the Senate Judiciary Committee. It doesn’t actually change policy, because parties already have the right to invite independent voters into its primaries, due to the US Supreme Court decision Tashjian v Republican Party of Connecticut. However, putting that into the election code might make it more likely that a party might exercise its right to do that. Thanks to Rick Lass for the news about HB 93.

California Bill to Allow Ranked Choice Voting in Special Legislative and Congressional Elections

California State Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) has introduced SB 641. It allows the Governor to require that Ranked Choice Voting be used in special congressional and legislative elections, if he determines that all the counties inside the particular district are capable of holding such an election. Thanks to Paula Lee for this news.