Nevada Secretary of State Bill for January Deadline for All Non-Presidential Candidates

Posted on by January 24, 2009
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Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller, a Democrat, has asked the Nevada legislature to move the deadline for all non-presidential candidates to January of election years, even though the Nevada primary is held in August. The bill to make this change is AB 82, introduced by the Assembly Committee on Elections, Procedures, Ethics, and Constitutional Amendments, on behalf of the Secretary.

The bill also moves the non-presidential independent petition deadline to January. Minor parties, which nominate by convention, would need to have nominated their candidates by January. Major party members seeking to run in the August primary would file a declaration of candidacy no later than January.

More Missouri Anti-Initiative Bills

Posted on by January 24, 2009
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An earlier post noted that bills are pending in both houses of the Missouri legislature to make it more difficult for initiatives to get on the ballot. As noted earlier, HB 228 and SB 115 are identical bills that outlaw out-of-state circulators, forbid paying circulators on a per-person basis, and require circulators to work only one petition at at time.

In addition to those bills, HJR3 would boost the number of signatures needed to get an initiative on the ballot, from 8% of the last gubernatorial vote (for a state Constitutional change) and 5% (for a statute), to, respectively, 10% and 8%. In addition, HJR4 would say that initiatives need to receive 60% of the popular vote in order to pass.

If the legislature passes HJR3 or HJR4, they would then be placed on the ballot for a popular vote, since they amend sections of the Missouri Constitution dealing with initiatives. HJ3 and HJR4 are both sponsored by Rep. J. C. Kuessner.

Florida Bill to Impose Filing Fees on Write-in Candidates

Posted on by January 23, 2009
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Florida State Senator Fredericka Wilson (D-Miami) has introduced SB 230, to impose filing fees on declared write-in candidates. The Florida legislature does not convene until March, but bills are being introduced now. According to an assistant to Senator Wilson, the Wilson office did not know that courts have struck down filing fees for declared write-in candidates in other states (Maryland, West Virginia, and California). This information conceivably could mean that Senator Wilson will not advance the bill once the legislature convenes.

Eight Arizona Legislators Introduce Bill for Presidential Candidates to Prove Eligibility

Posted on by January 23, 2009
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Eight Arizona legislators have introduced SB 1158, to require presidential candidates at the general election to submit “documents that prove that the candidate is a natural born citizen.” Since “natural born citizen” is not defined in the bill, nor in the U.S. Constitution, one wonders which documents John McCain would have been required to produce in 2008, if this bill had been law. He was born either in Panama or in the Canal Zone.

The bill also requires presidential candidates to submit documents that prove they meet the residency requirement. The Constitution requires presidents to have lived in the United States for 14 years. Finally, the bill requires presidential candidates to prove their age. The bill applies to independent presidential candidates, and to the presidential nominees of qualified parties. For party nominees, the bill requires the “national political party committee” to be responsible for obtaining the documents from its presidential candidate. The bill also applies to candidates for vice-president.

The bill’s lead sponsors are Senator Russell Pearce (R-Mesa) and Representative Judy Burges (R-Skull Valley). The other sponsors are Senators Pamela Gorman (R-Anthem), Ron Gould (R-Lake Havasu City), Chuck Gray (R-Mesa), Jack Harper (R-Surprise), Thayer Verschoor (R-Gilbert), and Representative Carl Seel (R-Phoenix).