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Kansas Bills, Eliminating 2016 Presidential Primary, Advance

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Richard WingerMarch 20, 2015

On March 18, the Kansas Senate Ethics & Elections Committee passed SB 239, which cancels the 2016 presidential primary. On March 19, the Kansas House Elections Committee passed HB 2398, which completely repeals the presidential primary.

The number of states holding presidential primaries in 2016 seems likely to be fewer than the number in 2012. The budget proposed by the Governor of Louisiana eliminates funding for the presidential primary, and the Massachusetts Secretary of State says there is no money in the budget for a presidential primary. Kentucky Republicans will probably hold a caucus instead of a presidential primary. Thanks to Frontloading HQ for the news about the Kansas bills.

Procedural Victory for Iowa Lawsuit on Ex-Felon Voting Rights

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Richard WingerMarch 20, 2015

On November 7, 2014, an Iowa woman who is barred from registering to vote because of a past conviction involving drug laws filed a lawsuit to have the Iowa restriction on ex-felon voting clarified, if not overthrown. On February 5, the state district court in Polk County denied the state’s motion to dismiss the case. On March 18 it set a trial date of July 2, 2015. The case is Griffin v Branstad, EQCE 077368. Here is a news story from last year, when the case was filed.

Iowa laws on which crimes cause disenfranchisement are very unclear. The case is based on the State Constitution.

Nonprofit Vote Releases its Report on Voter Turnout in 2014 Election

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Richard WingerMarch 19, 2015

Last week, Nonprofit Vote released a 26-page report on voter turnout in the November 2014 election. Here is a link to the report. Nonprofit Vote does reports like this after each congressional and presidential election.

Page seven shows the turnout in each state as a ranking. The states are in order of how high turnout was, and that page shows the rank of each state in November 2014 and also November 2010.

The two states that dropped the most in rankings between 2010 and 2014 were Delaware and California. Delaware was 12th best in 2010, but 37th in 2014. California was 20th best in 2010, but 43rd in 2014.

See the Letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates by Influential Americans on Expanding Access to the Debates

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Richard WingerMarch 19, 2015

Here is the text of the letter sent to the Commission on Presidential Debates earlier this year, signed by many influential Americans. The letter asks that the Commission on Presidential Debates liberalize access to the general election presidential debates.

Atheist Organization Hopes to Repeal Provisions in Constitutions of Eight States that Bar Non-Believers from Running for Office

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Richard WingerMarch 19, 2015

According to this article, the organization called Openly Secular (www.openlysecular.org) hopes to persuade eight states to remove provisions from their State Constitutions that forbid non-believers from holding state office. All the states are southern states, except for Maryland. The laws are not enforced. Thanks to Howard Bashman for the link.