The Mississippi Circuit Court of Calhoun County will hold oral arguments on Friday, April 27, in Dale v Mississippi Democratic Party. This is the interesting case over whether a party has the right to exclude a candidate from its primary, because he or she endorsed another party’s candidate in a previous election. George Dale, Mississippi’s Insurance Commissioner since 1975, and a Democrat, was not allowed to file in this year’s Democratic primary because he endorsed George W. Bush for president in 2004. No state law gives a Mississippi party any authority to exclude candidates based on their endorsements, but the state party has a Bylaw that authorizes such exclusions. Thanks to Steve Rankin for this news.

Montana SB 96 would make it illegal to pay circulators of an initiative on a per-signatures basis, and would also make it illegal for out-of-state residents to circulate an initiative petition. It has been passed by both houses. However, on April 13, the Senate refused to concur in House amendments, so a conference committee has been appointed. The disagreements between the houses involve another part of the bill, over whether the Attorney General or the Legislative Reference Services should prepare summaries of initiatives.

Vermont SB 108, to use Instant Runoff Voting for the state’s congressional races (both Senate and House) may still pass. It seems fairly likely the Senate Government Operations Committee will pass it on April 13. Unfortunately, the Governor had been hinting that if it reaches him, he may veto it.