New Hampshire Legislature May Pass Ranked Choice Voting Bill, but for Now, Wants to Think About it Some More

Posted on by February 18, 2019
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On February 13, the New Hampshire House Election Law Committee declined to pass HB 728, which would have provided for ranked choice voting for all federal and state office. But the committee did not defeat the bill either. It will study the issue some more. However, the delay means that ranked choice voting can’t be in place in time for the February 2020 presidential primaries. Here is a copy of the bill.

Tiani X. Coleman of New Hampshire has this interesting description of the hearing, posted in Independent Voting Network.

New Mexico Bill to Replace “Disobedient” Presidential Electors

Posted on by February 18, 2019
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New Mexico Representative Matthew McQueen (D-Santa Fe) has introduced HB 425. It says if a presidential elector does not vote for his or her party’s presidential nominee, he or she will be replaced. The text of the bill is here. It seems to imply that an independent presidential candidate will never carry New Mexico, because it only deals with party nominees for presidential elector. Here is the legislative analyst’s description of the bill.

See this article for more on how electors are chosen.

Maryland Bill to Allow Baltimore to Use Ranked Choice Voting is Withdrawn

Posted on by February 16, 2019
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Maryland HB 26 has been withdrawn by its lead sponsor, Delegate Brooke Lierman. It would have authorized Baltimore city to use ranked choice voting for elections for its own officers. See this story. Thanks to Steve Kamp for the link.

Meanwhile, the bill to let Montgomery County use ranked choice voting, HB 624, has a hearing Tuesday, February 19.

American Delta Party Registration in Delaware Slips Below Required Number for Qualified Status

Posted on by February 16, 2019
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Delaware recognizes parties if they have registration of at least one-tenth of 1% of the state total. At the February 2019 tally, the American Delta Party, which had been qualified, slipped below the minimum needed. It has 664 registrants but the minimum requirement is 715. Of course there is still time for the party to regain its status for 2020.

Rocky De La Fuente founded the American Delta Party. It qualified in Delaware in September 2016, but it obtained its registrants too late for the party to nominate anyone that year, so it hasn’t yet placed any nominees on the Delaware ballot. It had enough registrants in 2018 but it didn’t nominate anyone.

Ninth Circuit Rejects Secretary of State’s Rehearing Request in California Ballot Labels Case

Posted on by February 16, 2019
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On February 8, the Ninth Circuit refused to rehear Soltysik v Padilla, 16-55758. This is the lawsuit that challenges California’s refusal to put the party label of candidates on the ballot (for congress or partisan state office) if the candidate is a member of an unqualified party. This means that the case goes back to the U.S. District Court for a trial.

Originally the U.S. District Court had dismissed the case without permitting evidence, but now the case is revived and evidence can be submitted. The plaintiff, Emidio Soltysik, is a registered Socialist, but the law did not permit that word to be on the ballot next to his name when he ran for the legislature in the 2014 primary.