Vermont Representative John Moran (D-Wardsboro) and eight others have introduced HB 241. Vermont already allows two parties to jointly nominate the same person, but that candidate’s name is only listed once on the November ballot, followed by the names of all the parties that have nominated that person. The bill would change fusion in Vermont, to the type used in New York, Connecticut, Delaware, and South Carolina. Those states print the name of a candidate on the ballot twice (if the candidate is nominated by two parties), so voters can choose which party label they wish to support.

The bill was the idea of the Working Families Party, which is already ballot-qualified in Vermont.

A House sponsor has been found for the Pennsylvania Voter’s Act. He is Representative Eugene DePasquale (D-York). The bill has already been introduced in the Senate as SB 21. In the Senate, the bill’s sponsor is a Republican, Senator Mike Folmer. Having sponsors in both houses, and having one sponsor be a Republican and the other a Democrat, is advantageous for the bill.

The bill would decrease the number of signatures for independent candidates. For minor parties, it would let them nominate by convention, with no petitions needed, if they had approximately 4,500 registered members.

On February 11, the Federal Election Commission filed this response in the U.S. Supreme Court, in Cao v Federal Election Commission, 10-776. The Court hasn’t yet decided whether to hear this case. The Republican Party argues that it should have been allowed to partially coordinate with one of its nominees, former Congressman Joseph Cao, last year. Federal Campaign laws restrict party spending in congressional elections to a greater extent than it restricts the spending of any other groups. Thanks to Justin Levitt for the link.