On February 20, the Oklahoma Senate Rules Committee passed SB 76, which hugely increases candidate filing fees. All Republicans on the Committee voted “yes” and all Democrats voted “No.” The fee for state legislature would rise from $200 to $400; the fee for statewide executive offices other than Governor rise from $200 to $1,000; the fee for Governor from $1,500 to $3,000; for U.S. Senate, from $750 to $2,000; for U.S. House, $500 to $1,500. Thanks to E. Zachary Knight for this news.
On February 20, the New Mexico Senate Rules Committee passed SB 276, the bill to restore a straight-ticket device to New Mexico ballots. The vote was 6-4, with all Democrats voting “yes” and all Republicans voting “no.” If this bill passes the legislature, it seems somewhat likely that the state’s Republican Governor will veto the bill.
The bill says that only parties with more than a single statewide nominee on the ballot would have a straight-ticket device. In practice, given New Mexico’s severe ballot access laws for office other than President, this would mean that if the bill were enacted, most of the time only the Democratic and Republican Parties would have a straight-ticket device.
The National Popular Vote Plan has been introduced into both houses of the Minnesota legislature. The bills are SF 585 and HF 799.
Also, the “Uniform Faithful Presidential Electors Act” has been introduced into both houses. This is the model legislation that provides that parties nominate two candidates for presidential elector for each seat, an elector and an alternate. If the elector votes in the electoral college for someone other than the presidential candidate expected, the elector is deemed to have resigned and is replaced by the alternate. The bills are HF 526 and SF 464.
On February 19, the Virginia House passed SB 1049, which lets inactive voters sign petitions. The bill now goes to the Governor. The bill also sets up an appeals process when a candidate is told he or she doesn’t have enough valid signatures.
New York Assemblymember J. Gary Pretlow has introduced A4046, to change the definition of a qualified political party from a group that polls 50,000 votes for Governor, to a group that polls 100,000 votes for Governor. The bill, if enacted and in effect right now, would remove the Green Party from the ballot. Assemblymember Pretlow is a Democrat from Mt. Vernon. He has introduced similar bills in past sessions of the legislature.
