On February 4, the Arkansas House Committee on State Agencies & Governmental Affairs passed HB 1339, the bill to establish the National Popular Vote Plan. The vote was 12-6. All Democrats on the Committee, and one Republican, voted in favor.
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On February 4, the South Carolina House Judiciary Committee passed H3067, the bill that makes it illegal for two parties to jointly nominate the same candidate. The bill is sponsored by 7 Republican representatives, including the Majority Leader.
The South Carolina House has always seemed more interested in eliminating fusion than the South Carolina Senate has. Back in 2006, the House had passed a similar bill on January 27, but when the 2006 bill got to the Senate, it did not advance any further.
The 9th circuit will postpone proceedings in Nader v Cronin, the Hawaii 2004 ballot access case over whether a state may require six times as many signatures for a presidential independent candidate as it requires for an entire new party. The reason for the delay is to see if the legislature voluntarily eases the disparity.
On February 6, the Virginia House Privileges and Elections Committee passed HB 2642 by a vote of 22-0, after amending the bill. The amended bill makes it a crime for anyone to pay petition circulators on a per-signature basis, or even to offer. It would also be a crime for anyone to ask to be paid on a per-signature basis, or to be paid that way.
The part of the bill that requires voters to prove they are citizens before registering to vote was deleted. The only remaining other provisions of the bill require the State Board of Elections to delete the names of voters shown as deceased in Social Security records, and a ban on paying people to register voters on a per-registration basis.
On February 19, U.S. District Court Judge James Brady will hold a hearing in Libertarian Party v Dardenne, the Louisiana ballot access case. Last year, Judge Brady had granted an injunction putting Bob Barr on the Louisiana ballot, but the 5th circuit had overturned injunctive relief. The case continues, in order to resolve the constitutional question of whether the Secretary of State had authority to extend the statutory deadline long enough to assist the Republican Party but not long enough to assist the Libertarians, who were (and are) also a ballot-qualified party in that state. The state argues the case is moot.