Arlington, Virginia, is a city-county with a population of 207,627. According to this story, absentee voting in Virginia for the March 6 Republican presidential primary has been underway for three weeks, and so far only eighteen ballots have been cast. This is a slight clue that turnout for that primary will be exceptionally low. Any registered voter is free to vote in that primary. The only names on the ballot are Mitt Romney and Ron Paul, and write-ins are not allowed. Thanks to Bill Van Allen for the link.

Lee Goodman, General Counsel to the Virginia Republican Party, recently said, “States should study each and every condition they impose upon ballot access to ensure it is absolutely necessary to advance the government’s interest. Too often, burdens on ballot access become stale, and each state should reconsider its legal burdens, including Virginia.” See this story. Thanks to Bill Van Allen for the link.

On February 10, Wyoming State Senator Chris Rothfuss (D-Laramie) introduced SF 56, to convert Wyoming to a top-two system. The bill would only permit partisan labels for candidates who are members of qualified parties, so it would not treat all candidates equally. However, it does not eliminate write-in space on November ballots.

The bill is badly drafted. It amends section 22-5-101, which is titled “How candidates nominated”, to eliminate the ability of anyone to get on the general election ballot by independent petition or by convention of a qualified minor party. However, it does not repeal Article 3, which starts at 22-5-301, and which is titled “Nomination by Petition.”

The bill does not acknowledge that a top-two system cannot realistically apply to presidential elections, and by its literal language, would seem to eliminate normal party labels for presidential candidates at the general election. And, its change to 22-5-101 seems to eliminate the independent presidential petition procedure, although, as noted above, that is contradicted by its failure to amend 22-5-301.