On February 25, the Maine Joint Legal & Veterans Affairs defeated LD 1690. It would have provided that after the town clerks had checked initiative and referendum petitions, the Secretary of State would have made an electronic list available to anyone of those names and addresses. The purpose would have been to make it easier for opponents of such referendum and initiative petitions to challenge the validity of the signatures. See this story.

The bill also would have let voters who had signed an initiative or referendum petition remove their names, up until 15 days before the petitions are due. Thanks to Ballot Box News for the link.

A Libertarian candidate for the Ohio legislature failed to get on the Libertarian primary ballot because his petition (which needed 25 valid signatures, and which obtained them) is deficient. The date of the election was not filled out. See the story. Thanks to Carter Momberger for the link.

The candidate, Robert E. Waters, is still free to be a write-in candidate in the primary.

On February 23, the Illinois House Elections & Campaign Finance Reform Committee passed HB 4964, to move the primary from February to March. Also, on February 24, the Illinois Senate passed SB 3155, an identical bill. It is somewhat likely that the House bill will receive a vote in the House on February 25.

The February 2010 Illinois primary was the earliest primary ever held in any state, for Congress, in a mid-term year. The February date was very unpopular with the public, and with election administrators. Turnout was poor.

There are other bills pending in the legislature to move the primary to June, but those bills will now almost certainly be forgotten.