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.
Utah state elections officials say the Green Party petition has enough valid signatures. Utah now has seven qualified parties: Democratic, Republican, Americans Elect, Constitution, Green, Justice, and Libertarian.
On March 13, Maine Governor Paul LePage submitted budget proposals that include a substantial reduction in public funding for campaigns for state office. The Governor says less money is needed, because the U.S. Supreme Court decision last year in the Arizona Free Enterprise Club decision eliminated extra public funding for publicly-funded candidates who have well-financed privately-funded opponents.
However, the Maine legislature hasn’t even finished the job of amending the Maine public funding system. The bill to revise it has passed the Senate but not the House. The Governor’s budget would preempt alternative ideas to fix the public funding program. Thanks to Alex Hammer for this news.
The Philadelphia Weekly has this comprehensive story about Pennsylvania ballot access. The story is especially detailed on the problem that in Pennsylvania, alone among the states, candidates whose petitions are challenged must pay as much as $100,000 if their petition is found to lack enough valid signatures.
The story couldn’t include every problem in Pennsylvania, and does not mention that in 1986, the legislature provided that only parties with registration membership of 15% of the statewide total are actually ballot-qualified. If the Pennsylvania law existed in every state, the Democratic Party would not be on the Utah ballot, and the Republican Party would not be in the ballot in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, or the District of Columbia. Also the story does not mention the problem that some counties refuse to tally write-in votes.
On March 13, U.S. District Court Judge Marvin Aspen, a Carter appointee, enjoined an Illinois campaign finance law that prohibits contributions above $10,000 to a PAC that makes independent expenditures in an election campaign for state or local office. Here is the 13-page opinion.
