The Iowa Democratic Party has drawn up a plan that converts its presidential caucus to something that is more like a presidential primary. Votes could be tallied even if the individual party member is unable to physically attend. Thanks to Political Wire for the link.
Oklahoma Representative Sean Roberts (R-Hominy) has a bill pending that moves the deadline for candidates to file in a primary from April to January. He has recently amended his bill, HB 2338, to provide that candidates may file in the primary of a new party according to the original April deadline. This amendment was logically necessary, because the petition deadline for new parties to qualify is in March. Without the amendment, new parties that qualified near their petition deadline could not have had anyone running in their primaries.
The bill still forces independent candidates to file a declaration of candidacy in January, however, which is almost certainly unconstitutional. Thanks to E. Zachary Knight for the news about the amendment.
Arkansas SB 163 will receive a vote on the House floor on Wednesday, February 13. This is the bill that increases the petition requirement for newly-qualifying parties from 10,000 signatures to 3% of the last gubernatorial vote, which would be approximately 27,000 signatures.
On February 8, U.S. District Court Judge J. Michele Childs, an Obama appointee, dismissed the lawsuit Heindel v Andino, 3:18cv-1887. The case challenged South Carolina’s use of iVotronic vote-counting machines. The plaintiffs argued that the system is unreliable and would permit the vote tally to be hacked. But Judge Childs said that the plaintiffs lack standing, because they just have a generalized grievance and they did not show that they have been injured in particular. Here is the opinion.
According to news reports, Arkansas State Senator Trent Garner will amend his SB 276 today, so that the new primary date for all Arkansas primaries
(presidential and other office) would be March, not February. The bill has a hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 12, in the State Senate Committee on State Agencies and Government Affairs. It will probably pass because the Republican Party favors the bill. Currently the primaries are in May.
