Even though the Nebraska Director of Elections tried to find a sponsor in the legislature for a bill to make it easier for a party to remain on the ballot, no such bill has been introduced, and the deadline for new bills has passed.

This newspaper article explains that the Nebraska legislature has an unusually small number of bills this year. The explanation is that the many new legislators are reluctant to introduce bills. There are many new legislators in Nebraska this year, because legislative term limits finally took effect.

The bill that had been proposed to assist minor parties would have said that when a party meets the 5% vote test, it remains on the ballot for the next two elections, instead of just one election.

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 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.