American Third Position, a party founded in 2011, has changed its name to American Freedom Party. See this story. Thanks to IndependentPoliticalReport for the news.
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Six North Dakota legislators have introduced SB 2183, which makes it illegal for anyone to circulate an initiative, referendum, or recall petition if the circulator has not lived in the state for at least three years. Also the circulator must have voted in either of the last two North Dakota statewide elections. The sponsors are Senators David Hogue (R-Minot), Richard Wardner (R-Dickinson), and Representatives Al Carlson (R-Fargo), Larry Belew (R-Minot), Lawrence Klemin (R-Bismarck), and Mike Nathe (R-Bismarck). Thanks to Paul Jacob for this news.
Idaho currently has the initiative process, which requires the signatures of 6% of the registered voters. Senator Curt McKenzie (R-Nampa) has introduced S1026. It requires that statewide initiative petitions ask each signer to write the signer’s legislative district on the petition. Also it says that a single petition sheet cannot contain signatures of voters from more than a single legislative district.
Idaho has 35 legislative districts. Probably the overwhelmingly majority of voters do not know their legislative district number. The bill also requires that the petition contain the signatures of 6% of the registered voters in at least 22 of the 35 legislative districts. The bill was reportedly introduced at the request of the Farm Bureau, which hopes to stop any future initiatives on the subject of cruelty to farm animals.
The New York Times has this story, about large donors to the Republican Party creating an organization that will attempt to lessen the influence of Tea Party followers within the Republican Party.
Five parties with “Socialist” or “Socialism” in their names ran their own presidential candidates in 2012. Generally these parties ignore the existence of the other socialist parties, in their campaign literature, and their periodicals. But the Freedom Socialist Party’s most recent newspaper, the February/March 2013 issue of “Freedom Socialist”, breaks with that tradition, and explains the political differences with the Party for Socialism and Liberation. See this article by Megan Cornish.