On April 2, the Hawaii House passed SB 2898 and sent it to Governor Linda Lingle. It had already passed the State Senate. Only 8 “No” votes were cast in the House. Governor Lingle vetoed this bill last year, and she may veto it again this year. However, this year it is likely that her veto could be overridden.
On April 2, the Republican Party’s National Rules Committee issued its recommendations for presidential primary timing in 2012 and beyond. If the Republican Party National Committee approves the idea in August, and if the Republican Party’s national convention Rules Committee approves the idea, and the full national convention also approves the idea, then it will be party policy.
The plan would be that Iowa would go first with its caucus, followed by the New Hampshire primary, both in the first week of February. South Carolina could holds its primary, and Nevada could hold its caucus, as soon after New Hampshire as they wish.
Then the 20 smallest population states and territories would hold their events, during the third week of February. The remaining states would be divided into three groups. A lottery would be held to determine the order of the events for the next three groups. The winning group would hold its events during the first week in March. The second group would hold its events in the fourth week in March, and the last group in the 3rd full week in April. Thus, the season would be all over by April. By contrast, under the existing system, there are presidential primaries in May and June.
The 20 small states, plus territories, that would hold events in late February would be Alaska, Delaware, D.C., Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Northern Mariana Islands.
The larger states, which would participate in a lottery to see which groups went first, are grouped this way:
Group X: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin (16 states).
Group Y: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia (9 states).
Group Z: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania (7 states).
Thanks to Rob Richie and Rick Hasen for this news.
Former Connecticut Governor (also former U.S. Senator) Lowell Weicker is a witness in the pending lawsuit against Connecticut’s “Clean Elections” law. The Green and Libertarian Parties are suing to overturn the aspects of the law that treat Democratic and Republican nominees far better than other candidates. Weicker participated in a deposition in this lawsuit, on April 2.
On April 2, the California Senate Education Committee passed SB 1322, by a vote of 6-1. It removes an old unconstitutional law that makes it impossible for a member of the Communist Party to be hired as a public school teacher. Although this is not an election law bill, it has election law implications. If this bill is signed into law, it will probably be possible to pass another California bill in the near future, to delete election laws that bar Communists from running from office, and ban “subversive” parties from the ballot. As noted in an earlier post, only five states besides California have such laws still on the books.
On April 2, the Maine Senate passed LD 1744, the National Popular Vote Plan. The vote was 18-17. The same bill had been voted on in the Senate on March 10, but at that time, one Senator was absent, and the bill had failed to pass since that vote had been 17-17.
