On May 2, the Illinois House passed HB 858. It is the National Popular Vote plan for presidential elections.
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On May 2, the Connecticut Senate passed SB 1184. It moves the presidential primary from March to February 5. Thanks to Tony Roza for this news.
The Republican presidential debate set for May 15 in South Carolina will include the same nine Republicans who are debating in Simi Valley, California on May 3. Also the South Carolina debate will include Tom Tancredo. The nine who are in both debates are Sam Brownback, John McCain, Duncan Hunter, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Jim Gilmore, Tommy Thompson, and Rudy Giuliani. The South Carolina Republican Party set a 1% poll requirement, and said all 10 satisfied it.
On May 2, the Colorado legislature gave final approval to SB 83. It expands the ability of qualified minor parties to nominate whom they wish. The old law barred them from running nominees who had been a member of another party for the preceding year. The bill gives qualified minor parties the right to have a Bylaw that countermands this restriction. If this bill had been in effect last year, the Libertarian Party would have been able to run a strong contender for Sheriff of Arapahoe County.
SB 83 also deletes the requirement that initiative petitioners wear a badge giving their names and telling whether they are paid or not. It also lets circulators for a candidate for district office work, even if that circulator doesn’t live in that candidate’s district.
This is the first ballot access improvement bill that has passed in 2007 in any state, except for two bills in Arkansas.
On May 1, New Paltz, New York, held a village election. Incumbent Green Party Mayor Jason West was defeated for re-election by Terry Dunban of the Village Unity Party. New Paltz has partisan elections, but generally the parties that participate are just parties organized within New Paltz itself.
The vote was 514-379. Four years ago, when West was elected, he won with only 37% of the vote because there were four candidates. This time, with only two candidates on the ballot, West received 42.4%. Thanks to Austin Cassidy for this news.