On May 19, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius vetoed HB 2019, which would have provided for a Kansas presidential primary, starting in 2012. This year, Kansas was one of only 10 states with no presidential primary.

The bill said that the presidential primary should be the first Saturday in February. In 2012, the first Saturday in February is February 4. The major parties don’t allow presidential primaries before the first Tuesday in February (except that the Democratic Party gives special rights to four particular states). In 2012, the first Tuesday in February is February 7, so the Kansas primary would have been in violation of the rules of both major parties.

HB 2019 also provides that voters at the polls must show a government photo-Id. The Governor’s message said she is vetoing the bill because of that part of the bill. The Governor praised the part of the bill establishing a presidential primary, and implied she would have signed the bill if it had not had any provisions about photo voter-ID. The Governor did not acknowledge that the primary date would have violated national major party rules.

A year ago, the North Carolina Senate passed the National Popular Vote Plan. SB 954 passed on May 14, 2007. However, the House has done nothing with the bill. But North Carolina, like most states, has two-year legislative sessions, and the House is considering passing the bill. See this story.

The website Third Party Watch has been purchased by Richard Viguerie, effective May 19, 2008. Viguerie has long been interested in political action outside the two major parties, even though he has also been very much involved in Republican Party politics. In 1976 he and others tried to organize a campaign for a conservative revolt against the Republican Party, given that the Republican Party had just rejected Ronald Reagan and instead nominated Gerald Ford. He is the author or co-author of two books, America’s Right Turn and Conservatives Betrayed. The latter book is an attack on the Republican Party.