On February 10, Alabama State House member Craig Ford (D-Gadsden) said he will be an independent candidate this year for State Senate, 10th district. See this story. He was minority leader in the House 2010-2017 and has described himself as a conservative Democrat.
The 10th District is one of the most competitive State Senate districts in Alabama. In 2014, the last time the seat was up, the vote was Republican 17,967; Democratic 16,530.
Lynn Kahn, who was an independent candidate for president in 2016, is seeking the Green Party nomination for New York’s U.S. House 21st district seat. See this story on Independent Political Report.
On Saturday, February 10, the New Mexico State Senate passed SB 178, which changes the procedures by which parties choose Lieutenant Governor nominees. Currently Governor and Lieutenant Governor are elected as a team in November. But in primary season, they are not teamed. The bill would end the ability of anyone to file in a party primary for Lieutenant Governor. Instead, after the primary, the gubernatorial nominee would choose a running mate. See this story.
The Sioux Falls daily newspaper Argus Leader, the largest paper in South Dakota, has this detailed look at ballot access for minor parties and independents in South Dakota.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, a Democrat, has issued an executive order that whenever election administrators buy new vote-counting machines, they must be machines with a paper audit trail. See this story. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.
