On March 29, the Maryland House Ways and Means Committee passed HB148, the National Popular Vote Plan bill. The Senate had already passed the identical bill (SB 634). The full House will vote on March 30. Since the Governor has already said he will sign the bill, it seems likely that Maryland will be the first state to pass the Plan. The Plan does not go into effect until states containing a majority of the electoral college have approved it.
On March 26, Quebec Province held a provincial parliamentary election. The Democratic Action Party of Quebec (ADQ), which had held only 4 seats in the last Quebec parliament (out of 125 seats) won 41 seats, making it the 2nd strongest party in the province. The results are: Liberal Party 48 seats, ADQ 41 seats, Party Quebecois 36 seats.
Many of the ADQ candidates who were elected, had no idea they had any chance to be elected, and are inexperienced in politics.
Something similar happened in Ontario Province in the 1990’s, when the New Democratic Party won control of Ontario, again in an election at which no one had dreamed that would happen, and many of the elected members had never considered that they might actually win.
The Canadian experience shows that when ballot access laws, debate practices, and public funding, are all equal, minor parties can do well, even in a system which lacks proportional representation.
The ADQ believes that Quebec should remain part of Canada but that all the provinces should have greater autonomy.
Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, a Democrat, is asking the Minnesota legislature to pass SF1298 and HF1110. These are identical bills that shrink the amount of time permitted for a group to circulate a petition to become a qualified party.
The Minnesota petition to create a new party has existed unchanged since 1913. It is a petition of 5% of the last vote cast, due in mid-July of election years. A group can start as soon as it wishes and take as long as it wishes. Nevertheless, it is so difficult, it has never been used on a statewide basis. For 2008, it requires 110,150 signatures.
Instead, unqualified parties invariably use the independent candidate petition, since the independent candidate petition is so much easier (only 2,000 signatures for statewide office). Minnesota lets candidates who use the independent procedure choose a partisan label, such as “Green” or “Libertarian” or “Independence.” Then, if the group polls 5% for a statewide candidate, it becomes a qualified party, without ever having had to do the statewide new party petition.
The bills change the new party petition deadline from mid-July to mid-May, and also make it illegal for a group to circulate the petition in an odd year. It would be very helpful if activists in Minnesota would ask the Secretary of State to amend his bills to lower the number of signatures needed, since he is shrinking the amount of time available, and since the 5% standard (having never been used) is obviously too difficult.
On March 28, New Jersey’s Governor signed A100. It provides for public funding for legislative candidates this year, but in only 3 districts (New Jersey has 40 legislative districts). Legislative leaders will decide which three districts participate, but they must choose a district that currently has three Democrats, a district that currently has three Republicans, and a district that has a mixed delegation (each New Jersey legislative district has one Senator and two Assemblymembers).
Democratic and Republican candidates can qualify for public funding of $50,000 if they raise $10 contributions from 400 residents of their district. Other candidates who raise the same amount of contributions would receive $25,000. In 2009, though, the “other” candidates would receive equal treatment if they had polled at least 10% in 2007. In the case of unqualified parties, if that unqualified party polls 10% for that legislative race in 2007, it gets equal funding in 2009.
On March 28, the North Carolina House tentatively passed H91, which lets people register as late as the Saturday before election day, at early voting sites.
