The Georgia legislature adjourned Friday night, April 3, a few minutes before midnight. On the last day the House passed SB 86. It requires people who are registering to vote to submit either a birth certificate or, if the person was born in a foreign country, documents showing the person was born a citizen, or naturalization documents.

Although a great deal of work was done in the last six months to find a sponsor for Georgia ballot access reform, no bill was introduced in the 2009 session.

On the last day of the session, HB 848 was introduced, to move the presidential primary from February to March. Of course the bill could not be acted upon, having been introduced so late, but the bill will be introduced again in 2010. The Democratic National Committee hopes to move all presidential primaries and caucuses that choose delegates from February to March, except for the four states that have special permission to be earlier than March. Thanks to Joshua Putnam for the news about HB 848.

As had been previously reported here, last month the 1st circuit ruled against a plaintiff-candidate in Massachusetts who had been arrested for petitioning for himself on an interior post office sidewalk. The 1st circuit had ruled last month that the postal regulation against “campaigning” on interior post office sidewalks is constitutional. The 1st circuit had also equated “campaigning” with petitioning.

On April 3, the plaintiff asked for a rehearing. His brief points out that courts are not supposed to think up rationales for a restriction on free speech that the government itself had not presented as a rationale for that restriction. The 1st circuit decision had talked extensively about the post office’ history of involvement with partisan politics, in the years before 1970. Then the 1st circuit had assumed that since the post office since 1970 has tried to avoid any appearance of partisanship, therefore it is necessary to have a ban on “campaigning” on its interior sidewalks. The federal government’s briefs defending the regulation had never used that rationale for the regulation.

Florida HB 497 would make it illegal for initiative petitioners to be paid on a per-signature basis. Also it would require paid circulators to attend a government-sponsored training class. The bill has passed several policy committees but was “laid on the table” on March 27, so perhaps it is dead. Thanks to J. W. Smith for this news.