Congressman Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma) has introduced HR 412. It abolishes public funding for presidential campaigns. So far it doesn’t have any co-sponsors. The public funding program has been in place starting in 1976. Minor party and independent presidential candidates who have received primary season matching funds and/or general election funding include John B. Anderson, Sonia Johnson, Lenora Fulani, John Hagelin, Ross Perot, Pat Buchanan, Ralph Nader, Gary Johnson, and Jill Stein. The FEC has always permitted primary season matching funds to be used to pay the expenses of ballot access petitioning. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the news about the bill.

On February 26, the Montana House passed HB 454 by a vote of 53-46. Current law requires qualified parties to choose precinct committee members in a government-administered primary. The bill says parties may continue to do that, but they are also free to appoint such party officers per party rules. Or, they can elect them in primaries they adminster themselves.

Apparently, the purpose of the bill is to moot the lawsuit pending in the Ninth Circuit over the constitutionality of forcing parties to choose party officers in a primary at which any voter is free to participate, whether they are Republicans or members of another party or independents. Thanks to Mike Fellows for this news.

On February 24 the Virginia House Appropriations Committee killed SB 742. That bill would have provided for general election runoffs, for statewide office other than President, when no one got as much as 50% in November. The committee didn’t vote it down; it merely failed to act on the bill by the deadline. It had passed the Senate on February 9.