Joe Mathews has this column at Fox and Hounds, a California politics web site. Mathews points out the important factual error in the January 29 State Court of Appeals decision Rubin v Padilla. The decision upheld California’s top-two system, but the judges largely based their opinion on their misunderstanding that before top-two went into effect, independent voters couldn’t vote in congressional and state office primaries.
Nine Democratic members of the New Hampshire House, along with the independent member, have introduced CACR 10. It would amend the State Constitution to convert gubernatorial terms from two years to four years. Currently, all states have four year gubernatorial terms except for New Hamnpshire and Vermont, which elect governors every two years. Thanks to Howard Wilson for this news.
This newspaper story describes the hearing on February 10 in Crum v Duran, the case over whether the New Mexico Constitution mandates that independent voters be allowed to vote in partisan primaries.
Connecticut State Senator Joe Markley, a Republican, has introduced SB 610. It moves the presidential primary from April to the first Tuesday in March. It would have no effect on the primary for other office, which is in August. Thanks to Josh Putnam for this news.
The Gainesville (Georgia) Times has this story about HB 58, the bill to ease ballot access for U.S. House, legislature, and partisan county office. There have been many bills to improve Georgia ballot access over the last 28 years, all of which have failed to pass. But during those 28 years, the Georgia newspapers have consistently failed to mention such bills. It is somewhat encouraging that HB 58 has now been covered in four Georgia news sources, including the one in the “Update” below.
UPDATE: here is another story.
