On March 17, the Mississippi Democratic Party Executive Committee voted to bar George Dale from the party’s primary this year, for State Insurance Commissioner. He is the incumbent and he has always been elected as a Democrat (for eight full 4-year terms). The party took the action because Dale endorsed President Bush for re-election in 2004. He will probably file a lawsuit to get on the Democratic primary ballot, which is bound to make interesting law about the rights of political parties versus the rights of candidates. Similar lawsuits in Alabama have always resulted in wins for the political parties. A somewhat similar lawsuit in Missouri last year failed to settle the issue in that state.

On Friday, the Arkansas House approved HB2353, a bill to lower the requirements for third parties to 10,000 signatures. The bill passed 66-23.

State law currently requires signatures equal to three percent of the total number of voters in the last election, which was 24,171 last year.

However, the bill adds hurdles to the process, most notably, reducing the signature gathering time from 150 days to 60. It also removes a 15-day period new parties have to gather additional signatures if petitions are rejected by the secretary of state.

The bill was introduced in response to a successful lawsuit by the Green Party. U.S. District Judge George Howard Jr. ordered the state to place the Green Party on the ballot, ruling that the signature requirements violated the party’s candidate for governor’s rights.

On March 15, the New Jersey Assembly passed S2193, to move the New Jersey presidential primary from June to February 5. Also on March 15, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB 113, which does the same thing for California.