Last week, filing closed for Idaho primaries. One of the candidates who filed in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate is Marvin Richardson, who legally changed his name last year to “Pro-Life.” The Secretary of State accepted his filing, saying since “Pro-Life” is the new legal name of the candidate, he has no choice but to list him.

However, on March 24, S. 1514 was introduced in the Idaho Senate, saying if a candidate changes his name so that the new name seems intended to convey a political message, then the candidate must have in parentheses after his name, “A person formerly known as (blank)”. The bill passed the Senate unanimously on the same day it was introduced, and if it is signed into law, takes effect immediately. The Idaho primary is in May.

On March 25, the Constitution Party turned in 1,252 signatures for its Hawaii party petition. The requirement is 663 signatures.
The deadline is April 3.

Other parties that are circulating the party petition in Hawaii are the Green Party, and Ralph Nader’s Independent Party. The Libertarian Party does not need to petition this year in Hawaii. After a party has been on the ballot three elections in a row, it is automatically on for the next ten years. The Libertarian Party is enjoying its ten free years.

The Burlington Free Press of March 25 editorializes against against SB 108, which implements Instant-Runoff Voting for both Houses of Congress. See the editorial here.

The editorial pokes fun at the bill because it only applies to congressional races. The editorial points out that it is rare for anyone to fail to get a majority for Congress in Vermont anyway. Of course, the reason the bill is limited to Congress is (1) it is easier to implement something new if it is limited; (2) changing to IRV for statewide state office would probably require changing the Vermont Constitution. The editorial doesn’t mention either of these points.