On February 2, the Kentucky Senate passed SB 53, which tells the political parties that nominate by primary that they must let independents vote in their primaries. The bill now goes to the House.
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This newspaper story describes the oral argument in Thalheimer v City of San Diego, a case filed last December to challenge certain campaign finance laws in San Diego. The hearing was on February 2. The judge promised a preliminary decision by February 22.
On February 2, the Maine House defeated LD 56 by a vote of 50-95. It would have implemented the National Popular Vote Plan. The plan has passed in five states, none of them in New England. It won’t go into effect in any state until it has passed in states containing a majority of the electoral college.
On February 2, a subcommittee of the Virginia House Committee on Privileges and Elections tabled HB 78. Current Virginia law lets an incumbent dictate to his or her political party how the party should nominate, in his or her upcoming race. Incumbents can determine whether their own party uses a convention or a primary, in that incumbent’s own upcoming election. The bill would have removed the power of incumbents to determine the nomination method.
Colorado Representative Max Tyler (D-Lakewood) has introduced HB 1077, which would make it possible for two parties to jointly nominate the same candidate. If a candidate had the nomination of two parties in the general election, he or she would be listed twice, so that a voter could choose which party line to support. This is called “disaggregated fusion”, and is in use currently only in New York, Connecticut, Delaware, and South Carolina.