Most counties in New Jersey use electronic voting machines that do not produce a paper trail. Critics of these voting machines filed a lawsuit in state court in 2004, Gusciora v McGreevey, which is still alive and is now called Gusciora v Christie. On March 5, the Appellate Division heard oral arguments on whether use of the machines threatens the accuracy of vote counts and whether use of the machines violates New Jersey’s Constitution. See this story, which describes the hearing.

The reason the case is so old is that the New Jersey legislature amended the law in 2005 to require a paper trail. However, the legislature subsequently postponed implementation of the paper trail, in 2007, 2008, and in 2009. The state says it can’t afford to alter the machines to provide a paper trail. Thus, the case remains alive. The lead plaintiff is Assemblymember Reed Gusciora, a Democrat from Princeton who is the Deputy Majority Leader of the Assembly. Here is the brief in opposition to the use of the machines.

On March 5, the Oklahoma Senate passed SB 76 by 27-18. It increases candidate filing fees. U.S. House rises from $500 to $1,500; legislature from $200 to $400; U.S. Senate from $750 to $2,000; most state executive statewide offices from $200 to $1,000.

In Oklahoma, under current law, candidates who don’t pay the filing fee must submit a petition of 5% of the voters, a task that would cost far more than any of the filing fees, new or old. The bill doesn’t change this petition in lieu of filing fee. Thanks to Richard Prawdzienski for this news.

On March 5, the Hawaii Senate sent SB 223 back to committee. That means it is almost certainly dead. The bill would have made it easier for parties to exclude candidates from their primaries. Current law requires a party to go to court if it believes that a candidate in the party’s primary does not agree with the platform. The bill would have given the state chair to exclude candidates, without going to court. The Hawaii Attorney General had opposed the bill.