The Wyoming Senate Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisons Committee has put HB 173 on its agenda for February 14, Friday, at 7:30 a.m. This is the bill that increases the independent statewide independent candidate petition requirement from 2% to 3% of the last U.S. House vote, and raises the independent petition for legislative candidates from 2% to 5%. It also moves the independent petition filing deadline from August to June. It has already passed the House.

Wyoming already has the nation’s most severe petition for presidential candidates running outside the major parties, on a percentage basis. Furthermore, it only had three presidential candidates on the ballot in November 2024. Forty-seven states had at least four presidential candidates on the ballot.

The American Solidarity has renewed its political body status in California. This means the election officials will continue tallying the number of people who register into the party. Thanks to Eric Wong for this news.

On February 7, Cornel West filed this amended complaint in his Pennsylvania ballot access lawsuit, West v Pennsylvania Department of State, w.d., 2:24cv-1349. The case challenges the unequal state requirements for presidential elector candidates. If a party has 15% of the registration, its candidates for presidential elector need file nothing. Instead the party files a list of their names and addresses.

But everyone else must have a full slate of presidential elector candidates, and each presidential elector candidate must submit a notarized declaration of candidacy. This rule kept Cornel West, Claudia De la Cruz, and Randall Terry off the ballot last year.