Here is a link to the text of HR 20, the bill introduced in the U.S. House on February 5 to establish public funding of campaigns for the U.S. House.
Reply
Former U.S. Senator Larry Pressler is currently petitioning to get on the South Dakota ballot as an independent for U.S. Senate. Here is an article about his campaign, which has a reference to his petition drive. The deadline is April 29 but the primary (which he is not involved with) is not until June 3. Pressler probably doesn’t need extra time to get his 3,171 valid signatures. But if he did need more time, it is almost certain that he would win a lawsuit against the deadline. There are no legal precedents upholding an independent candidate petition deadline that is earlier than primary day.
The South Dakota non-presidential independent petition deadline had been in June until 2012, when it was moved to April.
This article about Allen Levene, a resident of Georgia, says that he plans to qualify for the Republican primary ballot in four different districts this year: Georgia 11, Hawaii 1, Michigan 14, and Minnesota 6. Thanks to the Center for Competitive Politics for the link.
On February 6, 2014, three independent candidates filed a federal lawsuit against the Arkansas petition deadline for non-presidential independents. This year the deadline is March 3. The 2013 session of the legislature moved that deadline from May to March, even though Arkansas petition deadlines as early as March or April have been struck down three times in the past (in 1975, 1976, and 1988). One of those prior deadline decisions, Lendall v Jernigan, was summarily affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1977.
The case is Moore v Martin, eastern district, 4:14cv-65. It was assigned to U.S. District Court Judge James M. Moody, a Clinton appointee. As far as is known, this is the first constitutional ballot access cases filed in calendar year 2014. Plaintiff Mark Moore wants to be an independent candidate for Lieutenant Governor; plaintiff Michael Harrod for State House, district 84; plaintiff William Chris Johnson for White County Judge.
For 2014, the only state with an earlier petition deadline for independent candidates is Nevada, which has a February 6 deadline.
According to this story, the Florida Libertarian Party is about to launch a registration drive. There is no particular election-law related reason to do that, but the party assumes higher registration will strengthen the state organization and be a means to attract more activists.