On March 12, Congressmember Justin Amash (R-Michigan) introduced HR 1681, to outlaw discriminatory ballot access laws for congressional candidates. The bill says that minor party and independent candidates could not be required to obtain more signatures than major party candidates need to run in a primary. The bill also outlaws straight ticket devices in connection with federal elections.
Here is the text. Thanks to Thomas Jones for the bill number.
On March 8, the Utah Senate Government Operations Committee passed HB 259 by 5-3. The bill now goes to the Senate floor. It has already passed the House.
On March 13, the Arkansas House State Agencies & Governmental Affairs Committee passed SB 445. It moves the primary for all office, in presidential years, from May to March. It also moves the petition deadline for a newly-qualifying party from January to October of the year before the election. The bill had already passed the Senate.
The Nebraska Senate Government, Military & Veterans Affairs Committee held a hearing on SB 98 on March 13. In Nebraska, committees don’t vote on bills at the time of the hearing. But many bills never even get a committee hearing, so this shows the bill is making progress. It lowers the non-presidential independent candidate petitions from 10% of the number of registered voters, to 4,000 for statewide office.
The old 10% law was held unconstitutional in 2018.
On March 12, the Missouri House Rules Committee passed HB 26 by 6-2. It changes Missouri from open primaries to closed primaries. The bill had already passed the House Election Law Committee. Here is the consultant’s analysis of the bill, which also lists who testified for it and against it, and a summary of their testimony.
