On March 28, the Rhode Island House Judiciary Committee heard testimony on HB 5466. It would ease the definition of “Political Party”. Currently, a party is a group that either submitted a petition to qualify itself, or a group that polled 5% for President or Governor at either of the last two elections. The bill would expand the list of offices for which the vote test counts, to all the state statewide offices (Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Attorney General).

If the bill were to pass and were to be applied retrospectively, the Cool Moose Party would become a fully qualified party, since it polled over 5% for Lieutenant Governor in 2006.

On March 28, the Rhode Island House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on a bill to abolish the straight-ticket device. It is HB5508; an identical bill in the Senate is SB744. Many witnesses criticized the device and no one defended it. The committee will study the issue and vote next month.

North Carolina’s law for independent candidates for U.S. House is so difficult, it has never been used, in the entire history of government-printed ballots in that state. On March 29, the COFOE (Coalition for Free & Open Elections) Board voted to assist a proposed lawsuit to overturn the North Carolina independent candidate law, as applied to U.S. House candidates. The law requires a petition signed by 4% of the number of registered voters in the district, plus a large filing fee.

A lawsuit is also currently pending against the North Carolina ballot access laws for new parties. It was filed in 2005 by the Libertarian Party and still doesn’t have a decision.