The Rhode Island legislature adjourned on July 3. Only three election law bills passed this year. As previously reported, the National Popular Vote bill, SB 346, was signed into law on July 11. The only other two election law bills that became law are one that says people standing in line outside the polling place at 8 p.m. will be allowed to vote; and one that says mail ballots must be received by the end of election day in order to be validly cast.

The Moderate Party made a superhuman effort to try to pass the bill that eliminates the straight-ticket device, but the bill did not pass, because the Speaker of the State House was personally opposed to the bill.

On July 18, a Colorado state district court upheld the validity of two recall petitions. The petitions are intended to require recall elections for two state legislators. The legislators had sued, saying the petitions are invalid because some of the mandatory wording was omitted. But the court ruled that the petitions substantially comply, and that the recall committees had depended on the template that had been furnished by the Secretary of State’s office. See this story. No Colorado legislator has ever before been recalled. The recall petitions are set for September 10.

The North Dakota Libertarian Party has completed its petition for party status in the 2014 election, and plans to submit it on July 25. As far as is known, this is the first time any newly-qualifying political party has completed any petition for statewide status in any state for the 2014 election.

No party, other than the Democratic and Republican Parties, has managed to poll enough votes to remain ballot-qualified in North Dakota since the Reform Party met the vote test in 1996. If the Libertarian Party gets 5% for either Secretary of State or Attorney General in 2014, then it will also be qualified in 2016.