On March 30, the Arkansas Senate State Agencies & Government Affairs Committee passed SB 860, which makes it more difficult for initiatives and referenda to get on the ballot. See this story. Among other things, the bill makes it a crime for any voter so sign a petition twice. Many times, individuals sign a petition twice because they don’t remember that they had already signed it. This is especially true for initiative petitions, when the petition drive may be ongoing for many months.
On March 31, the Idaho House passed SB 1066. It sets up a presidential primary in March. The primary for other office will continue to be in May. Assuming the Governor signs it, it is likely that in 2016, there will be Republican presidential primaries in 39 states, and 20 of them will be in March. Thanks to Josh Putnam for this news.
Mississippi SB 2531 failed to pass, even though it had passed both chambers of the legislature. The versions of the bill were slightly different in each house, and it is now too late for a conference committee compromise. The bill would have moved the presidential primary (and the primary for all other office in presidential years) from the 2nd Tuesday in March to the 1st Tuesday in March.
As a result, it is now somewhat plausible that the Alabama bill to make the same change may not pass. The idea was to have a unified primary day for several neighbor states in the south, including Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas. Thanks to Josh Putnam for this news.
On March 30, the Arizona Senate passed HB 2608 by 17-12. It makes it more difficult for Libertarians to get on their own party’s primary ballot. It does not injure the Green Party. The bill will now go to the Governor.
Thomas E. Brennan, a former Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, and the founder of a 4-campus law school, has requested a speaking slot at the Constitution Party’s April 24-25 national executive committee meeting in Pittsburgh. Here is the wikipedia article about Brennan.
