Alabama Representative Jim Carns (R-Vestavia Hills) has introduced HB 258. It would move the primary in midterm years from the fourth Tuesday in May to the second Tuesday in May. If it passed, the petition deadine in midterm years for independent candidates and new parties would become two weeks earlier.
Ten Rhode Island State Representatives have introduced HB 5277, to create a top-two system. They are nine Democrats and one Republican. The Democratic sponsors are Arthur Corvese, Samuel Azzinaro, William O’Brien, Scott Slater, Thomas Noret, Brian P. Kennedy, Raymond Hull, Robert Phillips, and Jacquelyn Baginski. The Republican is Brian Rea.
Rhode Island law defines a qualified party as a group whose nominee for either President or Governor received 5% of the vote in the last election. The bill changes this definition so that if a candidate endorsed by a party received 5% for those offices, it would be qualified (the bill keeps the presidential nominee nominee option, however). The bill seems to have no prohibition on two different groups or parties “endorsing” a gubernatorial candidate. Taken literally, the bill would appear to allow the Libertarian Party, for example, “endorse” a Republican running for Governor, who conceivably would qualify for the general election ballot and poll at least 5%. Then, again taking the bill literally, that would seem to cause the Libertarian Party to become a qualified party. However, it is doubtful the bill would be interpreted that way.
New York State Senator James Skoufis, and Assemblymember Jonathan Jacobson, both Democrats, have introduced S1687 and A5058. The bills end the practice of having the presidential primary in April, followed by primaries for other office in June. Instead there would be only one primary for all offices, in late June.
Assemblymember Andrew Molitor, a Republican, has introduced A4421, which moves the non-presidential primaries from June to August.
Oregon State Senator Fred Girod (R-Stayton) has introduced SB 392, to move the primaries for all office from May to March, in presidential years. This is probably motivated by a desire to have Oregon’s presidential primary play a bigger role in the major party presidential nomination process.
On February 13, the South Dakota House passed HB 1169. It requires initiatives for constitutional amendments to get the signatures of 5% of the last gubernatorial vote in each legislative district. South Dakota has 35 legislative districts. Currently there is no distribution requirement for such petitions.
All six Democrats voted against the bill. Also three Republicans voted against it: Roger DeGroot, Mike Weisgram, and Mike Stevens.
