The regular session of the Washington legislature ended earlier, with no legislation passing that would revive the 2016 presidential primary. But a special session opened on April 29, and on that first day of the session, the Senate again passed SB 5978, which would create a March primary. It is not very likely that the House will pass the bill, but it is possible. Thanks to Josh Putnam for this news.
On April 29, the California Supreme Court refused to hear Rubin v Padilla, the case filed by three of California’s minor parties that charges the top-two system injures voting rights in the general election. It is conceivable that the case will now be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Reboot Illinois is about to launch a petition drive to place an initiative on the November 2016 ballot that would set up a nonpartisan commission to draw legislative district boundaries. See this story. The group tried in 2014 but did not get enough signatures. The Constitution requires approximately 290,000 valid signatures. The group will attempt to collect 600,000. The proposed initiative would only concern legislative districts, not U.S. House districts.
The Republican Party of Puerto Rico and the Democratic Party of Puerto Rico will hold presidential primaries on March 13, 2016. Puerto Rico also had presidential primaries in 2008, 2000, and 1992. March 13, 2016 is a Sunday.
Montana SB 279 has become law. It provides that in November 2016, the voters will vote on whether they want to amend the election law, to require a special election for U.S. Senate, when a seat becomes vacant. Current law lets the Governor appoint someone who holds the office until the next regularly-scheduled election.
The legislature could have simply passed an ordinary law making the same change, as was done this year in North Dakota. But apparently the Republican-majority legislature thought the Governor, who is a Democrat, might veto the bill. So they passed the idea as a referendum, which doesn’t need approval by the Governor. It seems overwhelmingly likely that the voters will approve the idea next year.
