On April 23, the Arizona House passed SB 1430 on a voice vote. Technically, the bill hasn’t passed the House yet; it passed “Committee of the Whole”, which is slightly different than passing the House itself. However, it is extremely likely it will pass on Tuesday, April 24.

The bill moves the primary from mid-September to early September. Because independent candidate petitions deadlines, even for president, are the same day that Democrats and Republicans file to get on the primary ballot, the effect of moving the primary to an earlier date, is to make independent candidate petition deadlines earlier. Arizona already had the 2nd earliest petition deadline for independent presidential candidates of any state (only Texas is worse). The new deadline will be in late May in some years, and the first week in June in other years, depending on that year’s particular calendar.

Nader’s challenge to that deadline is pending in the 9th circuit.
The bill also has the effect of moving the petition for a new party to an earlier date, from mid-March to early March. The bill’s lead sponsor, Senator Karen Johnson, had promised several months ago that she would do nothing to make ballot access more difficult. However, she did not keep her word.

On April 21, the Nevada Republican State Central Committee voted to move its 2008 presidential caucus from April, to January 19. A national Republican Party rule says that any state (other than New Hampshire and Iowa) that chooses its delegates before February 5 will lose half its delegate slots. But the Nevada Republican Party made its decision anyway. Nevada Democrats were already holding their caucus on January 19, and Nevada Republicans felt the Democrats would gain an advantage in that state if Republicans held back.

West Virginia has been holding presidential primaries since 1916, and will do so again in May 2008. However, most of the West Virginia delegates to the 2008 Republican convention will be chosen by a special state party convention on February 5, 2008. The West Virginia Republican Party sends 27 delegates to Minneapolis. Fifteen of them will be chosen at the party’s February convention and only nine of them will be chosen by the Republican voters in May.

West Virginia Democrats send 39 delegates to Denver. However, only 18 will be chosen in the primary. Nine will be chosen by a state convention in June and 12 other seats are reserved for particular party officials and public officials.