On February 4, the Fourth Circuit issued an order in Griffin v North Carolina State Board of Elections, 25-1018. This is the dispute over the correct vote count in the November 2024 race for North Carolina State Supreme Court race. The Fourth Circuit is content to let the state trial court settle the dispute, but asked the U.S. District Court to keep the federal case alive.
The Weirton Daily Times has this article about the Constitution Party, which became ballot-qualified in West Virginia for the first time last year.
Two bills have been introduced in the Nebraska legislature to end the practice of letting each U.S. House district choose its own presidential elector.
Senator Loren Lippincott (R-Central City) introduced LB 3, an ordinary proposed statute.
Senator Myron Dorn (R-Adams) introduced LR24CA, which is a proposed amendment to the State Constitution. It would provide that all presidential electors be elected by a statewide vote. Because it would amend the Constitution, it would require a popular vote in 2026. That would give the voters a chance to decide if they like the current system, or whether they want all the electors chosen statewide, as is done in 48 states.
On February 3, the Indiana Senate Elections Committee passed SB 201. It changes Indiana from an open primary to a closed primary. Here is the text.
Like many of these bills, there is no acknowledgment of the U.S. Supreme Court decision Tashjian v Republican Party of Connecticut (1986), which said that if parties want to let independents vote in their primaries, state law cannot interfere. The Indiana bill has no provision for parties with primaries to decide this for themselves, and merely says that no one may vote in a primary if that voter is not registered in the party.
Two South Carolina state representatives have introduced HB 3640, to establish a top-two system. Here is the text. The sponsors are Beth Bernstein (D-Columbia) and Neal Collins (R-Easley).
