New York Bill to Let Voters Switch Parties Up to 25 Days Before a Primary

Posted on by January 12, 2015
1

New York has long had the nation’s most restrictive law concerning when voters may switch from one particular party to another. Current law does not allow anyone to switch, and vote in the primary of the new party, unless the voter makes the change in the year before the primary. State Senator Daniel Squadron (D-New York city) has introduced SB 570. It would allow voters to change parties, and vote in the primary of the new party, as long as the change was made no later than 25 days before the primary.

New York Bill to Make Definition of “Political Party” More Restrictive

Posted on by January 12, 2015
10

New York Assemblyman Gary Pretlow (D-Mt. Vernon) has introduced AB 838. It would alter the definition of “political party” from a group that got 50,000 votes for Governor, to a group that got 100,000 votes for Governor. If passed, it would take effect for elections starting in 2016. Thus, it would remove the Independence, Women’s Equality, and Stop Common Core Parties from the ballot.

Pretlow has been in the Assembly starting in 1992. In November 2014, no one ran against him, and he had the nomination of the Democratic Party and the Independence Party.

U.S. Supreme Court Hears Reed v Town of Gilbert, Arizona

Posted on by January 12, 2015
3

On January 12, the U.S. Supreme Court heard Reed v Town of Gilbert, Arizona. This is not an election law case, but any case involving discriminatory treatment and free speech has the potential to affect election law. The issue is a town ordinance that says some types of signs may remain on the public right-of-way for months and may be large, whereas other types of signs must be small and removed very quickly after the event that the sign is advertising. See this story, which suggests that the town ordinance will be held unconstitutional.

UPDATE: here is the transcript of the oral argument. Thanks to HowAppealing for the link.

Nebraska Bill to Eliminate Ability of U.S. House Districts to Elect Their Presidential Elector

Posted on by January 12, 2015
6

Nebraska State Senator Beau McCoy (R-Omaha) has introduced LB 10. It would end the Nebraska practice of letting each U.S. House district elect its own presidential elector. In 2008, two of Nebraska’s congressional districts chose a Republican elector, but the 2nd district centered on Omaha chose a Democratic presidential elector. However, in 2012, all three districts chose Republican electors.