The New Hampshire House holds a committee hearing on HB 1454 on January 29. This is the National Popular Vote Plan bill for presidential elections. The bill was introduced on December 10, 2007.
The National Popular Vote Plan bill has been introduced at least one in every state legislature in the nation, except Delaware, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Ohio.
On January 23, Iran’s ruling Revolutionary Council disqualified 3,000 candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections. See this news story. The candidates were disqualified on the basis of their political views.
On January 9, West Virginia State Senator Clark Barnes introduced SB 49. It improves the definition of “political party”. Currently, a qualified party is one that polled 1% for its candidate for Governor in the last election.
The bill expands that to a group that polled 1% for any of its statewide state office candidates. It is always easier for a minor party to poll a relatively large vote for a less important statewide office, than an office like President, Governor, or U.S. Senator.
The bill also says a qualified party is any group that persuades 1% of all the registered voters to register into it. Senator Barnes is the Republican whip in the State Senate.
Also on January 9, Delegate Barbara Fleischauer and seven other Delegates introduced HB 3144. It lowers the petition for previously unqualified parties and independent candidates from 2% of the last vote, to 1%. It also deletes various obsolete provisions from the law that have already been declared unconstitutional. The West Virginia petition for statewide office was only 1,000 signatures until 1932. Then it was raised to 1% of the last vote cast, and in 1999 it was raised again, to 2%.
Dennis Kucinich has told the Cleveland Plain Dealer that he is dropping out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, and that he will concentrate on being re-elected to Congress. See this story. Thanks to Eric Garris.
The webpage www.openballotvoting.org has just been established. The purpose of the site is to promote bills in state legislatures that let two political parties jointly nominate the same candidate. This is commonly caused “fusion”. The page lays special emphasis on the bills now pending in Maine and Oregon that would legalize fusion.
