On May 19, the Rhode Island Senate passed S161 by a vote of 26-9. This is the national popular vote plan bill. Last year, it passed the legislature but was vetoed by Republican Governor Donald Carcieri. Last year the vote in the Senate had been 27-10.
The five states in which the national popular vote plan has passed are Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, and Washington.
The Louisiana legislature has an excellent webpage, in that it is possible to watch Louisiana legislative hearings on one’s computer. Here is a link to the 30-minute hearing held on May 19 on HB 776. That bill, written by the Secretary of State’s office, says that qualified parties with fewer than 40,000 registrants may no longer nominate by primary. Unfortunately, the bill does not provide any authority for them to nominate any other way, such as by convention or caucus. UPDATE: the next hearing on this bill is not May 26 (Tuesday); it is May 27 (Wednesday).
To see the hearing, scroll down to entries labeled “May 19, 2009 Regular Legislative Session”. Then choose the “House and Gov Committee.” The testimony on HB 776 starts 20 minutes into the committee hearing, and lasts 30 minutes. One watches Secretary of State Jay Dardenne explain that if his bill passes, and if two Green Party members file for the same congressional seat, they would both appear on the November ballot with the party label. In such a system, of course, the Green Party has no ability to decide on its preferred nominee. Even if 99% of the party members want one particular Green, and only 1% want another Green, both would appear on the general election ballot. Secretary Dardenne seems to think there is nothing wrong with that.
The committee postponed action on the bill until its May 26 hearing. Ballot Access News has faxed a letter to each committee member, suggesting that HB 776 be amended to authorize small qualified parties to nominate by convention. It is believed that Louisiana members and officers of the qualified parties (Green, Libertarian, and Reform) have also communicated their concerns. Thanks to Randall Hayes for the link to the video.
On May 19, the Louisiana House Committee on House and Governmental Affairs passed HB 420. It moves the deadline for independent presidential candidates to file from the first Tuesday in September, to the first Friday after the first Tuesday in September.
It also revises the deadline for qualified parties to submit their presidential elector candidates. Existing law was ambiguous in 2008. The new law says that if a qualified party fails to submit that party’s candidates for presidential elector by the first Tuesday in September, the national chair of that same party may submit them by the first Friday after the first Tuesday in September.
The old law talked about this 3-day “grace period” for qualified parties not in terms of a particular date, but in terms of “72 hours after the deadline”. Because the Secretary of State in 2008 had extended the deadline because of the storm, and because the Libertarian Party had tried to take advantage of this “grace period”, it was not clear how the 72-hour period should be calculated at instances when the original deadline had been extended. Thanks to Randall Hayes for this news.
The May 23 Daily Oklahoman, Oklahoma’s largest daily newspaper, has this story about the failure of the legislature to pass any ballot access reform for minor parties. The story is undoubtably the result of a well-written press release by Oklahomans for Ballot Access Reform (OBAR). Thanks to Richard Prawdzienski for the news. As the story and the press release makes clear, Oklahoma has two-year legislative sessions, and the bill (which has already passed both Houses overwhelmingly) has good chances in 2010.
The May 23 Daily Oklahoman, Oklahoma’s largest daily newspaper, has this story about the failure of the legislature to pass any ballot access reform for minor parties. The story is undoubtably the result of a well-written press release by Oklahomans for Ballot Access Reform (OBAR). Thanks to Richard Prawdzienski for the news. As the story and the press release makes clear, Oklahoma has two-year legislative sessions, and the bill (which has already passed both Houses overwhelmingly) has good chances in 2010.
