Ralph Nader has this essay about Howard Schultz and the U.S. presidential election system in TIME.
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The Kansas Senate Ethics, Elections & Local Government Committee has introduced SB 116. It lowers the petition to recognize a new party from 2% of the last gubernatorial vote, to 1%. It also expands the petitioning period from six months to one year.
This bill is identical to HB 2113, so this idea has now been introduced in both houses. Thanks to Nick Blessing for this news. UPDATE: HB 2113 has a hearing on Tuesday, February 12, at 3:30 pm.
Arkansas Senator Trent Garner (R-El Dorado) has introduced SB 276, which moves the primary for all office form May to February. Senator Garner is also the Senator who is sponsoring the bill to almost triple the number of signatures for newly-qualifying parties.
If SB 276 passed, the petition deadline for new parties would move from January (already too early to be constitutional) to October of the year before the election.
Nineteen Democratic members of Congress from New York have signed a letter, urging the legislature not to ban fusion. The signers include both of New York’s U.S. Senators. See this story.
On February 6, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson signed HB 1152. It moves the non-presidential independent candidate petition deadline form March to May.