On January 31, North Carolina State Senators Thom Goolsby (R-Wilmington) and Jerry Tillman (R-Archdale) introduced SB 39. It would make all state judicial elections partisan, whether for State Supreme Court, State Court of Appeals, or District Court. According to this article, there is a fair chance the bill will pass.
The city of Wheaton, Illinois, has filed a lawsuit to prevent one particular individual from being a declared write-in candidate for city council. The County Board of Elections accepted his write-in filing, so presumably the city is suing the County Election Board. The issue is the duration of residency for the candidate. See this story.
Illinois Representative Mike Fortner (R-West Chicago) has introduced HB 1269, which substantially lowers the number of signatures needed for independent candidates. However, it makes the petition deadline earlier, and requires a shorter petitioning period.
Currently independent candidates for statewide office need 25,000 valid signatures, due in late June. The petition must be completed in the 90 days prior to the deadline. Independent candidates for district office need a petition of 5% of the last vote cast.
HB 1269 lowers the statewide petition to 5,000 signatures; the U.S. House petition to the same number of signatures needed for primary candidates (one-half of 1% of that party’s last general election vote, which is always less than 2,000); the State Senate petition to 1,000 signatures; the State House petition to 500 signatures. Unfortunately, it moves the deadline to 75 days after the March primary. If this bill had been in effect in 2012, the deadline would have been June 3 instead of June 25. Also the bill says petitions can’t start to circulate until 75 days before the deadline.
The bill does not change the petition requirements for the nominees of unqualified parties. Thanks to Dan Johnson for this news.
Election law bills in Wyoming that would have made interesting substantive changes have failed to pass by the necessary deadline. SF 108 would have switched Wyoming to a top-two open primary system. HB 96 would have made it easier for a party to remain ballot-qualified. HB 141 would have prevented members of one party from switching their party registration on primary day so as to vote in another party’s primary, although it would have retained the ability of independent voters to switch to any party on primary day for the purpose of voting in that party’s primary.
One bill that did pass is one of the Secretary of State’s omnibus election bills, HB 2. It says that independent candidates must show their petition to the Secretary of State and get it approved, before beginning to circulate it.
New York city is holding a special election for city council, 31st district, on February 19. In New York city, even though elections are partisan, special city council elections are conducted without party nominees. All candidates appear on the ballot with their party label, if they obtain at least 450 valid signatures. Nine candidates filed, but one candidate, Jacques Leandre, then challenged the petitions of six of his opponents. See this story. The story does not explain the basis for the challenge. Leandre, in defense of his action, reminds people that President Obama challenged his opponents’ petitions in 1996 when he first ran for public office. Obama challenged all his opponents off the primary ballot when he was running for State Senate.
Only one of the candidates has been knocked off the ballot. See this story.
