Many election law bills have been introduced in the new Virginia legislative session, but there seem to be no bills to ease ballot access, unless one counts the two bills already mentioned to permit write-ins in primaries. But there is a bill to make primary ballot access more difficult. Senator Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) has introduced SB 244, which establishes registration by party. It also seems to make it more difficult for parties to remain ballot-qualified, and it seems to make it more difficult for candidates to get on primary ballots, although the bill does not affect the presidential primary.

The bill seems to make it more difficult for a party to remain ballot-qualified by saying that qualified parties can’t maintain their status unless they have registration membership of 15% of the state registration. Then it makes ballot access more difficult for candidates in primaries, by requiring them to submit petitions of 1% of the number of registered voters in that party. Although the bill is not perfectly clear, it implies that only party members could sign a primary petition.

Virginia now has 5,138,037 registered voters. If even one-third of them register as Republicans, a statewide petition to get on the Republican primary ballot would then need 17,126 signatures, and probably only registered Republicans could sign. Current law requires 10,000 signatures for any statewide primary petition, and any registered voter can sign.

The deadline for bills to be introduced in 2012 has already passed. It was 5 p.m. on January 13.

The U.S. District Court in Richmond, Virginia, had been expecting to hear Lux v Judd on January 17, but the hearing has been postponed until January 25, at 2 p.m. Lux v Judd, filed in 2010, concerns the Virginia law that petitioners can’t work outside their home U.S. House district, if they are working on a petition for a U.S. House candidate. Lux, an independent candidate, was kept off the ballot in 2010 because of the circulator residency requirement, but his lawsuit is still alive.

Probably the hearing was postponed so that everyone can see what happens in the presidential petitioner residency lawsuit, filed by Rick Perry, now pending in the 4th circuit.

On January 11, Virginia State Senator Frank W. Wagner (R-Virginia Beach) introduced SB 510, to allow write-in votes in all primaries. Currently Virginia permits write-ins in all general elections, but not in any primaries. See this story, which says that although the bill may pass, legislative leaders don’t expect to pass it with an urgency clause. That would require an 80% vote in each house of the legislature. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link. UPDATE: the same bill is pending in the House. It is HB 1132, by Delegate Mark Cole (R-Fredericksburg).