On March 12, Florida Democratic Party state chair Karen Thurman sent a proposal to various leaders of the national Democratic Party, the state Democratic party, and the Clinton and Obama campaigns. Her proposal is for a new presidential primary for Florida Democrats, to be completed June 3. It would combine mail-in balloting and in-person balloting and would cost between $10 and $12 million dollars. Thurman hopes for a resolution on her plan by March 14. See this article. The state party would pay for the primary itself, and is counting on massive donations for that purpose.

Washington state’s HB 1534, which improves ballot access for minor parties and independents, failed to move through the Washington Senate Rules Committee by the deadline, so it cannot pass.

It is tough to pass a bill like this, while the entire state is still waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court decision on its primary process. The case, Washington State v Washington State Republican Party et al, was argued on October 1, 2007, in the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court still hasn’t issued the opinion.

On March 7, the U.S. District Court in Virginia that had jurisdiction over Ralph Nader’s lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee (stemming from events in 2004) transferred the case to U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia. The case is now before U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo Urbina, a Clinton appointee.