Maine Representative Les Fossel has introduced LD 1879, which would require “party formation committees” to meet the same campaign contribution disclosure laws that other types of political groups must follow. The bill is co-sponsored by nine other legislators, including the Speaker of the House, Robert Nutting. All of the sponsors are Republicans except for Representative Teresa Hayes, who is a Democrat.

Maine law already provides that when a group wishes to qualify a new party for the ballot, it must submit a Declaration of Intent, which must be signed by at least ten voters. The provisions of LD 1879 seem to only relate to those ten individuals. If the intent of the bill is to require Americans Elect to disclose the names of contributors who are paying for petitioning, the bill seems powerless to accomplish that, and this would seem to be true, even if the bill had been enacted in the past and was already in effect. There seems to be no reason to believe that the contributions for paid petitioners would necessarily go through the ten individuals who signed the “Declaration of Intent” to qualify a new party. The existing law, section 303, says, “Ten or more voters who are not enrolled in a party qualified under section 301 must file a declaration of intent to form a party with the Secretary of State”, but nothing says that those ten individuals are necessarily the people who are arranging for paid petitioners.

According to a source within Americans Elect, Jon Huntsman will seek the Americans Elect presidential nomination, and Evan Bayh is willing to be his running mate. Huntsman was Governor of Utah 2004-2008. Bayh was Indiana Governor 1988-1996, and U.S. Senator 1998-2010. Huntsman and Bayh have not told Americans Elect leaders that they will seek the nomination.

Because Huntsman is a Republican and Bayh is a Democrat, the proposed ticket is deemed “balanced” by the Americans Elect bylaws. If Huntsman wins the on-line Americans Elect presidential primary, and Bayh becomes his running mate, the Americans Elect board would have no ability to contradict the results of the on-line primary. Of course, Huntsman and Bayh are the type of candidates whom the founders of Americans Elect would wish to see nominated in any event.

On March 8, the Missouri House Rules Committee passed HB 1060, which, among other things, raises the presidential primary filing fee from $1,000 to $10,000. It provides for a petition in lieu of the filing fee of 5,000 signatures, but only for candidates who swear they can’t afford the filing fee.