The Texas House will vote on May 15 on SJR 13. This is a proposed constitutional amendment that would impose term-limits on statewide executive posts, including Governor. The proposal would limit office-holders to two consecutive terms. Service before 2014 would not count against any office-holder. The proposal has passed the Senate and the policy committee in the House. If it is signed into law, the voters will vote on it in November 2013. Thanks to Jim Riley for this news.
Law Professor Vikram Amar has just made this scholarly paper available. It analyzes whether or not the initiative process can be used to alter state laws on presidential elector selection, and concludes that Article Two does not bar the use of initiatives for that purpose. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.
The Massachusetts Joint Committee on Election Laws will hear H 652 on Wednesday, May 15, at 2 p.m. The bill says each U.S. House district should elect its own presidential elector.
On May 13, the Maine Joint Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee defeated LD 1422, a bill that would have established ranked-choice voting for congressional and state office, and also established a presidential primary. This was a peculiar bill, because those are two entirely different subjects wrapped up in the same bill. Thanks to FrontloadingHQ for this news.
On the evening of May 14, the North Carolina House passed HB 794 by a vote of 109-5. The bill requires the legislature to appoint a committee composed of state legislators who will study ballot access after the 2013 sitting is over. The committee will take public testimony and prepare a report, and the 2014 half of this current session will then address the issue. UPDATE: here is a news story that mentions this outcome.
