On February 10, the Montana Senate voted on the proposal to amend the State Constitution and require a majority vote before anyone can be elected. The result was a 25-25 tie. Since the bill is a proposed Constitutional amendment, under Montana legislative rules, it now goes to the House even though it didn’t pass the Senate. However, it must pass in the House with a two-thirds vote, so its chances are dim. See this news story, which quotes former Secretary of State Mike Cooney, who is now a State Senator, criticizing both ordinary run-offs and Instant Runoff Voting.

Although the news story says the bill applies to state and local office, it actually also applies to federal office.

Maryland State Senator Richard Colburn (R-Cambridge) has introduced SB 327. It requires run-off general elections, if no candidate received 50%. The bill also requires run-off primaries when no one got 50% in a primary. The run-offs would be held 3 weeks later.

New York Assemblyman David Gantt (D-Rochester) has introduced a bill to prohibit two parties from jointly nominating the same candidate. The bill is A2399. It makes an exception for judicial candidates, and would continue to allow multiple parties to cross-endorse the same judicial nominees.