Six Vermont representatives have introduced HB 444. It provides for ranked choice voting for all non-presidential primaries, and also in general elections for Congress. Thanks to Mike Drucker for this news.
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On March 14, an important vote occurred in the U.S. Senate on whether to disapprove of President Trump’s declaration of emergency spending on a border wall. There are 53 Republicans. Twelve of them (22.6%) voted against President Trump.
Advocates of open primaries are constantly saying that open primaries produce more moderate office-holders. However, Republicans nominated in closed primary states were approximately twice as likely to vote against the President, than Republicans nominated in primaries in which independent voters may participate.
Fifteen Republican Senators are elected in states in which the Republican primary is closed. Of those 15, 6 voted against President Trump, or 40.0%.
Fourteen Republican Senators are elected in states in which the Republican primary is semi-closed. Of those 14, two voted against President Trump, or 14.3%.
Twenty-four Republican Senators are elected in states in which the Republican primary is open. Of those 24, four voted against President Trump, or 16.7%.
On March 15, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed SB 19-42, the National Popular Vote Plan bill. Colorado is the first state to pass the bill in 2019. The last state that did so was Connecticut, last year.
On March 15, filing closed for candidates in the U.S. House election, North Carolina 9th district. Here is the list. There are ten Republicans, one Democrat, one Libertarian, and one Green. The only party that will hold a primary is the Republican Party; the unopposed candidates of the other parties are deemed nominated.
This election is necessary because the original election last November was tainted by illegal handling of absentee ballots.
The California Senate Elections Committee will hear SB 505 on Tuesday morning, April 2. This is the bill that sets out detailed rules on how candidates get on presidential primary ballots. Existing law does not require them to file, and says they will be put on the ballot automatically if they are generally recognized as candidates for a party nomination. The bill says they must file, and they must meet any two of five tests.