On May 1, an Oregon Senate Committee passed SB 630. It provides that there would only be two candidates on the general election (for all partisan office except president). Supporters of the bill refer to this as “the open primary”, although political science textbooks and U.S. Supreme Court decisions call it the “top-two” primary (a classic open primary is one in which a voter is free, on primary election day, to choose any party’s primary ballot).

Supporters of the “top-two” system say they have commitments from 16 Senators to vote for the bill. The Oregon Senate has 30 Senators.

This blog and also the written May 1 newsletter have already criticized Missouri HB 894 for requiring independent presidential candidates to file a declaration of candidacy in March. That violates Anderson v Celebrezze. HB 894, an omnibus election law bill, also has another unconstitutional provision. It says “any person who files as a candidate to a public office shall be disqualified from participation in the election if such person is delinquent in the payment of any state income taxes, personal property taxes, or real property taxes.”

States cannot add to the qualifications to run for federal office. If the bill had been written by someone who is familiar with constitutional law regarding elections, the bill would have exempted candidates for federal office.