Nevada Assembly Bill 534 will not pass. Among other things, it would have imposed a February deadline for declaration of candidacy on independent candidates. The bill is still in committee in the Assembly, and no hearing has been set for it, so it will miss legislature deadlines.
On May 23, the Colorado Secretary of State filed this brief in Colorado Republican Party v Griswold, 1:23cv-1948. The brief defends the state law, which requires parties that nominate by primary to let independent voters participate.
The Seguin Gazette, a Texas newspaper, has this op-ed by Nolan Schmidt, criticizing the State House for narrowly defeating a bill to treat all parties equally. Currently when a Democrat or a Republican candidate pays a filing fee, the money goes to that candidate’s party. But when a Libertarian or a Green candidate pays the same filing fee, the government gets the money.
This newspaper story describes the Arkansas Libertarian Party’s eighth petition in a row for party status. The petition is ongoing and is not due until the spring of 2026, but it already has over 3,000 signatures. The requirement is 10,000.
On May 19, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Lindsey v Whitmer, 24-1017. Eleven Republican state legislators in Michigan had brought the lawsuit, alleging that it violates the U.S. Constitution when voters use the initiative process to alter election laws that affect federal elections.
The theory that only state legislatures and Congress can change election laws that affect federal elections now seems virtually dead. The initiative process has been used in Massachusetts and Florida to improve ballot access laws, and it will probably be used in the future for that same purpose.
