On March 7, U.S. Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones introduced HJ 4, a House Judiciary Committee Resolution. Although the press release announced that a similar bill is being introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senator Hillary Clinton, there will be no actual bill in the Senate for some time. The bill requires all states to permit same-day registration for federal elections, as well as to expand absentee voting so that any voter may vote absentee whether he or she is away from home on election day or not. The bill also requires states to let ex-felons vote. Congress has the authority to do all these things, under Article One’s “Elections Clause”, but only for federal elections. The nation’s major civil rights organizations support this bill. The bill’s name is the “Count Every Vote Act.”

On March 7, the Arkansas Senate passed HB1509 unanimously. It expands Instant-Runoff Voting for use in partisan primaries. Existing Arkansas law already lets overseas military voters use it, and HB 1509 extends this to overseas civilians as well. The Governor is expected to sign the bill soon.

On March 1, a U.S. District Court in Northern California struck down a city ordinance that made it illegal for candidates to post campaign signs earlier than 90 days before an election, and also prohibited such signs on public property. Maguire v City of American Canyon, c-06-5681.