On February 21, fifteen officers of the Minnesota Republican Party filed this request to intervene in the lawsuit Martin v Simon, A24-0216. They argue that the 2023 law, requiring extra meetings and paperwork for ballot-qualified parties, might plausibly be used to disqualify the Republican Party.
On February 21, the Kansas House tentatively passed HB 2516, the bill to increase the statewide independent petition from 5,000 signatures to 2% of the last gubernatorial vote, about 21,000 signatures. It will get a final vote in the House on Thursday, February 22.
See this story. The bill’s author, Representative Paul Waggoner (R-Hutchinson) seems to think the best argument for this bill is rooted in the history of Kansas gubernatorial elections. What he doesn’t say is that Kansas required 2,500 signatures for statewide independent candidates in the years 1897 through 1991, and 5,000 signatures since then. Kansas elected its Governor every two years until 1974, and starting with 1974, the terms were four years.
Thus, Kansas has had 51 gubernatorial elections since petitions were first required. Out of those 51 elections, never has more than a single independent candidate been on the ballot for Governor. And in 42 of those elections, there were no independent candidates on the ballot for Governor. The years with one gubernatorial candidate on the ballot were 1914, 1924, 1932, 1938, 1964, 1966, 1970, 1990, and 2022.
The purpose of ballot access barriers is to keep the ballot from being too crowded. Obviously the old requirements have easily accomplished that goal.
The bill takes effect for this election, so independent candidates who are already petitioning now for president will have a strong due process lawsuit if the bill passes. In 1990, when the legislature increased the requirement from 2,500 to 5,000, the Secretary of State ruled that he would only require 2,500 for 1990, because he felt it wasn’t fair to increase the petition requirement in the middle of petitioning season. He made that decision on August 29. There are court precedents from other states that it violates due process to increase the ballot access barriers in the middle of petitioning season, and one of them, Hudler v Austin, was affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1976.
The Michigan Republican Party has two factions, each with its own set of officers. Most of the delegates to the Republican national convention are determined by the state convention, not the presidential primary, so there may be two competing sets of delegates sent to the national convention in Milwaukee in July. However a court may also resolve the dispute. See this story.
The last time a major party had two factions, each with its own nominees, was in the 1930’s, when the Mississippi Republican Party had two factions, each of which put competing slates of presidential elector candidates on the general election ballot. The two factions were called the “Lily White Republican Party” and the “Black-and-Tans Republican Party.” The split had no effect on who won, because back then the Democratic Party was overwhelmingly dominant in the state.
On February 21, the U.S. Supreme Court released two opinions, but no election law case. Most observers believe that the Court will release Trump v Anderson before Super Tuesday, March 5.
On February 15, the Hawaii Senate passed SB 2392. As amended, it says 30 voters may challenge a presidential or vice-presidential candidate on qualifications grounds. The Hawaii Supreme Court would then decide if the challenged candidate is unqualified. The bill also requires presidential electors to abstain from voting for any disqualified candidate. Here is the text.
The vote was 17-5.
