On February 22, the Minnesota Democratic and Republican Parties notified the Secretary of State that they want the 2020 presidential primary to be on March 3. The law that created Minnesota’s presidential primary, passed in 2016, gave the qualified parties the option to choose a different date, if they agreed with each on the alternate date. But instead they settled on March 3.
Some cities in Ohio hold partisan elections for local office in November 2019. The primary for these elections is May 7. Two Libertarians have filed to run for these offices in their own party’s primary. Brandon Bobbitt is running for Elyria City Council, and Rob Bender is running for Reynoldsburg City Council.
The Lorain and Franklin County Election Boards have accepted these filings, and the challenge period has passed. Both candidates are listed on the election board lists of certified candidates. This seems to confirm that the party is still ballot-qualified in Ohio, and will be in 2020.
California State Senator Tom Umberg has introduced SB 505, to alter the method by which candidates may be placed on presidential primary ballots. Existing law does not require a presidential candidate to file. Instead, the Secretary of State automatically places candidates on a presidential primary ballot who are discussed in the news media. For minor qualified parties, the tradition has been that the Secretary of State relies on advice from the state party chairs, although in 2016 Secretary Alex Padilla refused to print some of the names suggested by the chair of the American Independent Party, and one of the names suggested by the Peace and Freedom Party.
The bill requires candidates to file, and sets qualifying criteria. Candidates must meet at least two criteria:
1. Appear in a “national presidential debate”. The term “national presidential debate” is not defined. Candidates who believe they have met this criteria must file supporting documentation that the event took place. One wonders if a Republican “national presidential debate” would be considered to have taken place if President Donald Trump had not participated in such a debate.
2. Qualify for funding for primary season matching funds. Virtually no presidential candidates still file for primary season matching funds. The bill is vague about whether “qualify” means that the candidate actually files for the funds, or whether it means that the candidate would have received the funds if he or she had filed for them.
3. The candidate has been placed on another state’s presidential primary ballot, or another state’s caucus ballot, or has qualified to be in a caucus if that state doesn’t actually have formal caucus ballots.
4. The candidate has done all of the following: (1) set up a presidential campaign office in California; (2) set up an internet webpage; (3) filed with the FEC; (4) arranged to have his or her party send a letter expressing support for that candidate being on that party’s primary ballot.
Alternative three is impractical, because the California documentation is due in early December of the year before the presidential election, and very few states have set their presidential primary ballots that early. The only states with earlier presidential primaries than California are New Hampshire and South Carolina, and the South Carolina Republican Party may cancel its 2020 presidential primary.
Current law in Wyoming lets voters switch parties as late as primary election day. SF 160 would have changed that, and would have provided that voters could not change parties later than May 1 of an election year (the primary is in August).
Although SF 160 had passed the Senate on February 5, it was never brought up in the House, and it is now too late for it to pass.
Massachusetts holds its primaries (for office other than President) in September. State Senator Becca Rausch (D-Needham) has introduced SB 591, to move them to the second Tuesday in June. Representative David Nangle (D-Lowell) has introduced HB 1281, to move them to early August.
