On March 7, the Delaware Senate passed SB 22, the National Popular Vote Plan bill. The vote was 14-7.
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On March 7, the U.S. House defeated an amendment by Congressmember Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts) to set the voting age for federal office at age 16. The vote was 126-305. This bill, if enacted, would have been constitutional, according to the U.S. Supreme Court opinion Oregon v Mitchell, from 1970. In that case, the U.S. Supreme Court said the Elections Clause of Article One allows Congress to alter the voting age for federal office, without a constitutional amendment. Thanks to Steve Goodale for this news.
On the evening of Thursday, March 7, New Mexico HB 407 passed the House. Among many other provisions, it lowers the petition requirement for independent candidates from 3% of the last gubernatorial vote, to 2%. It lowers the independent presidential petition to one-half of 1%, although that provision is not worded well.
If the bill is signed into law, Alabama will be the only state that requires statewide non-presidential independent candidates to complete a petition greater than 2% of the last vote.
On March 7, the Arkansas Senate passed SB 445 by 20-7. It moves the primary, for all office, in presidential years, from May to the first week in March. It also sets an earlier deadline for primary candidates to file. The existing deadline is 75 days before the primary, but the bill moves that to 92 days, in presidential election years only.
The existing law says the petition to qualify a new party is due 60 days before the date on which primary candidates file. This means that the bill, if enacted, will move the petition deadline for a newly-qualifying party from January of the election year, to October of the odd year before the election.
On March 5, voters in Burlington, Vermont, elected city council members. The Progressive Party gained two new seats, so now it has five of the twelve seats. The two new Progressives both unseated incumbents. The new Progressive Party members are Perri Freeman, who got 54% in a 3-way race, and Jack Hanson, who got 59% in a 2-way race.
Also, Progressive Party members won local elections in smaller municipalities. Nick Clark won for council in Thetford; Rodger Arnold and John Langhus in Norwich; Tim Guiles in Brandon; and Derek Larson for the Brandon School Board.