On June 30, Paul Goldman, a Virginia proponent of a local initiative in Richmond, sued the State Board of Elections to overturn the law that won’t let his committee have a copy of the registered voter list.  Virginia law lets candidates buy the list, but not proponents of a ballot measure.

Goldman’s initiative needs 10,398 valid signatures in the city of Richmond in a brief time period.  The case is Goldman v Alcorn, state court in Richmond (circuit court), case 17-2997-5.  Thanks to Rosanna Bencoach for this news.

UPDATE:  see this story.

On July 4, David Hadley, who was a member of the California Assembly 2014-2016, said he will run for Governor of California in 2018. That makes three prominent Republicans who are seeking the office. Having three well-known Republicans increases the chances that no Republican will place first or second in June 2018. See this story, which mentions that Hadley voted for Gary Johnson for president in November 2016.

The Rhode Island legislature adjourned on July 3. During the session, five election law bills passed, the most newsworthy of which is HB 5702, to automatically register every adult citizen known to exist, unless the individual declines.

Also, four bills relating to polling place procedures passed: HB 5699, HB 5701, HB 5703, and HB 6008.

Interesting bills that did not pass are a proposed constitutional amendment to allow ranked choice voting for state office (HB 5513); bills to require presidential candidates to reveal their tax returns or be kept off the ballot (SB 91 and HB 5400); a bill to require write-in candidates who want their votes tallied to file a declaration of write-in candidacy (HB 6038); a bill easing the time for a voter to switch parties in order to vote in a primary from 90 days before the primary to 23 days (SB 343); and a restrictive bill moving the deadline for any candidate to file a declaration of candidacy from June to April (SB 346).