A Texas legislative hearing on HB 25, which would remove partisan judicial races from the reach of the straight-ticket device, got a cool reception on March 24, according to this story.
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On March 25, West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin signed SB 249, which eliminates the straight-ticket device. West Virginia is the eleventh state to have repealed the device in the last fifty years. The others have been Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, South Dakota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Rhode Island.
The ten states that still have it are Alabama, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah.
On March 27, the Arkansas Senate passed SB 389 by a vote of 20-5. It creates a presidential primary that is separate from the primary for other office. The primary for other office will continue to be on the fourth Tuesday in May.
Arkansas has always had its presidential primaries in May, except in 2008 when it held a separate presidential primary in February.
Another Arkansas bill, SB 765, which would have moved all primaries to March, has not advanced. If SB 765 were to become law, the effect would be to make the non-presidential independent candidate petition deadline even earlier than it already is. Already, Arkansas is being sued over the April deadline, but SB 765 would have put that deadline in late January or early February.
Because SB 389 seems likely to pass, it is now more likely that Mississippi and Alabama will pass pending bills that move their primaries (for all office) from March 8 to March 1. The three states mentioned in this post, plus Georgia, have long been planning to have simultaneous presidential primaries. The Georgia law lets the Secretary of State choose the date so no legislative action is needed in Georgia. Thanks to John Putnam for this news.
On March 25, Prophet Walker, who had placed second in California’s top-two primary in June 2014 for Assemblymember, 64th district, sued the winner, Assemblyman Mike Gipson, for libel. See this story. The focus of the lawsuit is a campaign flyer produced by Gibson’s campaign during the final weeks of the general election campaign.
Until that piece of literature had appeared, Walker and Gipson were in a highly competitive race. Several leading figures in southern California’s entertainment and film business had been providing substantial help to Walker’s campaign.
The primary in this district had included four Democratic candidates, and no other candidates.
On March 24, the states of Kansas and Arizona asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Kobach v U.S. Election Assistance Commission, 14-1164. This is the dispute over whether those states can require the federal government to alter the postcard voter registration forms in those two states. The form asks applicants to sign over penalty of perjury that they are U.S. citizens. The two states want the forms altered to tell applicants that they must attach proof of citizenship.
The U.S. District Court in Kansas had ruled in favor of the two states, but the Tenth Circuit had reversed, basing its decision on the fact that the Commission had held extensive fact-finding hearings on whether the change was necessary, and had determined that the change is not necessary.