Arizona SB 1154, which moves the non-presidential primary from late August to early August, passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 14.

Also, HB 2127, which moves the deadline for primary candidates to file from 90 days to 120 days before the primary, passed the House Elections Committee on February 19 and the House Rules Committee on February 20.

If both bills become law, the deadline for the petition for a newly-qualifying party would move from February of election years to December of the year before the election.

It is very easy for anyone to tell the Federal Election Commission that he or she is running for president.  A one-page form is all that is required.  So far, 558 individuals have filed the form to say they are running for President in 2020.  Here is the list, in chronological order, with the most recent filings at the top.

Arkansas SB 276 was on the agenda for Tuesday, February 26, in the Senate State Agencies & Government Affairs Committee.  For the fourth time in a row, though, the sponsor, Senator Trent Garner, did not bring it up.   The bill is important for ballot access.  The bill as presently written would move the petition deadline for newly-qualifying parties from January of the election year to November of the year before the election.  Both deadlines are unconstitutional, based on precedents from Arkansas federal courts in 1977 and 1996.  It will be interesting to see what happens to the bill when it finally begins to move ahead.