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Will Gardner, the Only North Dakota Republican for Secretary of State on the Primary Ballot, Withdraws

Posted on May 20, 2018 by Richard WingerMay 20, 2018

This article explains that Will Gardner, who is the only candidate listed on the June 12 Republican primary ballot for North Dakota Secretary of State, is withdrawing. The last part of the article discusses the options for the Republican Party. Either another Republican will file as a write-in in the primary, or not. If not, Gardner will certainly win the primary but then, because he has withdrawn, there would be no Republican on the November ballot.

The Libertarian Party is running Roland Riemers for Secretary of State, and the party needs 5% in that race to remain ballot-qualified.

Working Families Party of New York Edges Closer to Nominating Cynthia Nixon for Governor

Posted on May 20, 2018 by Richard WingerMay 20, 2018

On May 19, the New York Working Families Party of New York endorsed Cynthia Nixon for Governor, which makes it more likely that she will be the party’s nominee in November. See this story.

President Trump Endorses John Cox for California Governor, Making it Likely that General Election Ballot will be Gavin Newsom and Cox

Posted on May 20, 2018 by Richard WingerMay 20, 2018

On May 18, President Donald Trump endorsed John Cox for California Governor. See this New York Magazine story. This makes it likely that Cox will do well enough in the June 5 primary to place second, thus qualifying for the November ballot.

Minnesota Legislature is About to Adjourn; Did Not Pass Bills Making Ballot Access More Difficult

Posted on May 20, 2018 by Richard WingerMay 20, 2018

The Minnesota legislature is about to adjourn for the year, as of Sunday, May 20. A bill to make petition deadlines earlier for newly-qualifying parties and independent candidates did not pass. The bill, HB 1393, moved the primary from August to June. Because Minnesota law ties the date of the primary to the petition deadlines for new parties and also independent candidates, the bill would automatically have made those deadlines two months earlier.

The Minnesota bills to forbid cities from using ranked choice voting for their own elections, HB 3690 and SF 3325, also failed to pass. The Senate bill had passed one committee but did not advance beyond that.

The bills to make the legislature non-partisan also failed to pass. They were HF 1843 and SF 3759.

Missouri Legislature Adjourns without Passing Bills to Make Ballot Access More Difficult

Posted on May 20, 2018 by Richard WingerMay 20, 2018

The Missouri legislature adjourned on May 18. Two bills to make ballot access more difficult failed to pass.

HB 1285 would have increased the number of signatures for statewide independent candidates from 10,000 signatures to 2% of the last vote cast, which would have been greater than 110,000 signatures. The sponsors were Representative Pat Conway (D-St. Joseph) and Dan Stacy (R-Blue Springs). The bill had passed committee in the House but made no further progress.

HB 1232 would have banned “sore losers”. It was sponsored by Representative Stacy. It also had passed committee in the house, but did not advance beyond that. Thanks to Ken Bush for this news.