The Florida Secretary of State’s office has been reviewing the paperwork of each qualified political party, to see if each party meets the new procedures for qualification. The biggest change is that each party must have at least three statewide officers, who must be registered members of that party who live in Florida. Here is the sample checklist for each party. This particular one relates to the Reform Party, which has recently been approved.

The Secretary of State expects to finish this process by November 28. Thanks to David Collison for the link.

On January 27, 2010, Georgia Secretary of State Brian P. Kemp announced the creation of the Elections Advisory Council, which was to hold hearings around the state and seek citizen input on improvements to the election laws. The Council’s report is expected sometime in the next five weeks. There is some reason for cautious optimism that the recommendations will include easing Georgia’s ballot access laws.

The Georgia ballot access laws for statewide office are so severe that no one has succeeded in using the minor party statewide petition since 1996, and no one has succeeded in using the statewide independent petition since 2000. The requirements for minor parties and independent candidates for U.S. House are so difficult, no one has ever used them since they were toughened in 1964. Even during the period 1943-1964, when the petition was 5%, but the state did not check the signatures, did not require a filing fee, did not require notarization, and had an October deadline, no minor party candidate for U.S. House ever qualified.

According to this story, there are lawsuits pending in both federal and state court in Wisconsin over a new spate of legislative recall petitions. One set of plaintiffs, in the state case, argue that the recall petitions should be circulated in the new districts drawn by the legislature this year. The other plaintiffs, who filed in federal court, argue just the opposite, that since legislators elected in 2010 are the subject of the new recalls, the districts should be the districts that were used in the 2010 election.