According to this story, some Alaska legislators have said they believe the state Elections OFfice erred when it removed Daniel J. Sullivan from the primary ballot as a candidate for U.S. Senate.
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Merilee Dannemann, a New Mexico journalist, has this op-ed criticizing the New Mexico ballot access law for independent candidates. It appears in the Daily Post of Taos.
On June 18, Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee signed HB 7090 and SB 2491, identical bills that move the presidential primaries from late April to early March. Rhode Island also had presidential primaries in early March in the years 1996-2008.
On June 12, Texas Governor Greg Abbott spoke at the Republican Party state convention. He said he supports converting Texas primaries from open to closed. Bills to make such a change have failed to advance in the past several legislative sessions. The Texas Republican Party is also suing to obtain a closed primary for itself, but the lawsuit is moving extremely slowly.
On June 12, the Eleventh Circuit issued an order in Jackson v Jones, 26-10854. The case concerns Georgia’s campaign finance contribution limits. The law allows incumbent Governors and Lieutenant Governors to accept unlimited campaign contributions, an advantage that other candidates who run against them do not have. The U.S. District Court had enjoined the law, and the Eleventh Circuit agreed. The vote was 2-1. The dissent agreed that the law is unconstitutional, but felt the lawsuit is flawed procedurally because the plaintiff sued his opponent instead of suing the state.
The decision is by Judge Britt Grant, a Trunp appointee, and is supported by Judge Adalberto Jordan, a Clinton appointee. The dissent is by Judge William Pryor, a Bush Jr. appointee.