On November 24, outgoing Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear issued an executive order, making it much easier for most ex-felons to register to vote. The order is expected to ease the path for 170,000 individuals. Beshear is a Democrat and he only has two more weeks in office. However, incoming Governor Matt Bevin, a Republican, said during the campaign that he favors this idea. See this story.
NBC will give free time to four of the five Republican presidential candidates who asked for it on November 27 or November 28. See this story. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.
NBC still hasn’t decided whether to give George Pataki any free time, even though he has asked for it.
It is likely that the Utah Supreme Court will soon be asked to interpret a Utah primary election ballot access law. The statute says candidates without support at a party caucus can still get on a primary ballot if they complete a difficult petition, which can only be signed by party members. The Republican Party says its bylaws don’t permit such candidates. See this story.
Texas has a unique law saying a party that is not now on the ballot, but which intends to try to get on the ballot, must notify the Secretary of State at the beginning of any election year. So far, three parties have notified the Texas Secretary of State that they intend to try: (1) the Christian Party; (2) the Modern Whig Party; (3) the Veterans Party.
Parties already on the ballot in Texas are Democratic, Green, Libertarian, and Republican.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal ended his campaign for the Republican nomination for president on November 17. He was free to then withdraw his name from the New Hampshire presidential primary (his $1,000 filing fee had arrived in the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s mail on November 16). But he did not withdraw, and because he did not withdraw by the end of the day November 20, his name remains on the ballot.
Arkansas will permit him to withdraw, but he hasn’t done that yet, and even if he does, he won’t get his $15,000 Arkansas filing fee back. Most of that money went to the Arkansas Republican Party, which has a policy that such fees are not refundable.
