The three most prominent Republicans running for U.S. Senate in California this year all express the opinion in this San Francisco Chronicle article that none of them are likely to qualify for the November 2016 ballot. These three Republicans are Ron Unz, Tom Del Beccaro, and Duf Sundheim. Polls indicate that the top two vote-getters in June will be Democrats Kamala Harris (Attorney General of California) and Loretta Sanchez (U.S. House member from Orange County).

The only debate for U.S. Senate in California includes the five candidates mentioned above, but none of the other 29 candidates who are also on the June ballot.

In January 2016, bills were introduced in each house of the New York legislature to ease the deadline for voters to switch parties. Currently law requires a voter who switches parties to do so in October of the previous year. SB 2740 and AB 5763 would change that to 90 days before the primary. The authors are Senator Liz Krueger and Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh.

Neither bill has advanced, but there is so much attention now being paid to this issue, because of the April 19 presidential primaries, that this year perhaps the bills will make some headway. Assemblymember Kavanagh has been introducing this bill in every session starting in 2009, and it has never before advanced. Thanks to Mike Drucker for this news.

A Georgia resident, Allen Levene, has filed to be on the Republican primary ballots for U.S. House in two different states this year. He will be on the May 24 Georgia primary ballot in the Fourteenth district and also the August 7 Tennessee primary ballot for the Third district. See this story.