The Kansas House has passed HB 2516, which quadruples the number of signatures for an independent candidate for statewide office.  On February 27, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said if the bill is signed into law, he will sue to overturn it.  See this story.

For most of this year, the Michigan Republican Party has been split into two factions, with each one claiming to be the legitimate state party.  On February 27, a state circuit court enjoined one of the persons who claims to be state chair from representing herself that way, until the trial, which begins on June 10.  Pego v Karamo, 17th circuit court, 24-658-AZ.

The fact that a Michigan state court is adjudicating an internal party split will create a precedent that courts can handle these disputes.  In the past, when qualified minor parties in Michigan have had similar internal disputes, the Secretary of State and the state courts have refused to adjudicate them.  That means that neither faction can place nominees on the ballot.  In Michigan, small qualified parties nominate by convention, not primary.

For instance, the American Independent Party had an internal dispute in1976, and the Secretary of State refused to put either set of nominees on the ballot.  The same thing happened to the Reform Party in 2000.  Michigan was the only state in the nation that kept Pat Buchanan off its general election ballot.  One faction of the Reform Party said Buchanan was its nominee; the other faction said it was John Hagelin.  So the Secretary of State refused to adjudicate the dispute and kept both off the ballot.  In the future, the Pego precedent should prevent such an outcome for qualified minor parties.

Michigan held presidential primaries on February 27 for the Republican and Democratic Parties.

Here is a link to the unofficial results.