Rob Richie has this article in the Huffington Post, showing that media assumptions that most of the Republican presidential primaries have been assigning delegates proportionately is not true. The article present hypothetical delegate counts so far if the voting were proportional in all Republican presidential primaries. The article has other insights as well, about the role of money, and whether or not the Republican Party is being damaged by having a vigorous contest for its nomination.

On the evening of March 8, the Utah Senate passed HB 233 unanimously. The bill is now through the legislature. The bill says that if a party meets the 2% vote test, it is then on the ballot for the next two elections, not just the next election.

Minor parties generally poll enough votes in presidential years to remain ballot-qualified, because there are either four or five statewide offices on the ballot. But in midterm years, when only U.S. Senate is on the ballot, it is difficult for minor parties to meet the vote test. But under HB 233, there will generally be no need for a party to worry about the vote test in midterm years.

On March 8, the Maine Senate passed LD 1774, which eliminates extra public funding for candidates for state office who have well-funded opponents who don’t take public funding. This step is necessary, because on June 27, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in Arizona Free Enterprise Club’s Freedom Club PAC v Bennett that public funding systems can’t give extra public funds to candidates based on characteristics of the people running against that candidate.

San Francisco also has public funding for candidates, and is in the process of conforming its system to that U.S. Supreme Court ruling as well.