On February 22, Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy endorsed the National Popular Vote Plan. This makes it very likely that one of the Connecticut NPV bills will pass. Both houses of the Connecticut legislature have Democratic majorities, and Governor Malloy is a Democrat. See this story.
Currently, qualified parties in New Hampshire decide for themselves whether to let independent voters vote in their primaries. On February 22, the House Election Law Committee defeated HB 642. It would have mandated that all New Hampshire primaries be closed, meaning only registered members of that party could vote in that party’s primary. See the bill text. The bill lost unanimously, 20-0. The author is Representative Norman Silber (R-Gilford).
On February 22, the Oklahoma Senate Rules Committee amended and passed SB 145. It eases presidential ballot access. It provides that an independent presidential candidate, or the presidential nominee of an unqualified party, can get on the ballot by paying a filing fee of $17,500. Alternatively, the candidate can get on the ballot by submitting a petition of 3% of the last gubernatorial vote, which right now is 24,745 signatures. The deadline would be July 15. If this bill is signed into law, chances are future presidential candidates will use the filing fee method, even though it is very high.
On February 21, the North Dakota House defeated HB 1417 by 23-69. It would have ended the unique North Dakota requirement that a party have a large turnout in its open primary if it wants to nominate any legislative candidates. The existing law has kept all minor party candidates for the legislature off the ballot since 1976.
The bill also would have lowered the vote test for a party to remain on the ballot, from 5% to 2%. Currently the Libertarian Party is on the ballot, because last year Gary Johnson polled over 5% of the vote. That was the first time any party, other than the Democratic and Republican Parties, had met the North Dakota vote test since 1996, when the Reform Party also met it.
The Nebraska Senate Government, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday, March 15. Among the bills to be heard are:
LB 34, which says a party can remain on the ballot, regardless of its votes, if it has at least 10,000 registered members; and LB 25, which would end the system under which each U.S. House district elects its own presidential elector.
