Arkansas is the only state that has no statutory procedures for independent presidential candidates to get on the ballot. HB 2367, which would set up such a procedure, passed the House on March 20. It requires 1,000 signatures. It is similar to the existing Arkansas requirement for unqualified parties to place a presidential candidate on the ballot.
On March 16, the New Mexico Senate passed HB 1155. It had already passed the House. It moves the petition deadline for minor party nominees from mid-July to early June.
In the meantime, all the briefs have now been filed in the 10th circuit, in the lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of the requirement that qualified minor parties must submit petitions for their nominees.
The Vermont Secretary of State did not release her report on how to implement Instant-Runoff Voting until March 9. This has slowed the progress of bills to implement IRV for some statewide offices. However, it is still somewhat likely that the Senate bill, S.108, could pass.
On March 19, the Arkansas House passed HB 1703 by a vote of 52-41. The bill has had a perilous history so far. First it failed in Committee, then on reconsideration it passed. The same thing then happened on the House floor; first it lost, but then reconsideration was granted, and it won. Democrats control the Arkansas legislature and hold the Governorship. The Governor has already said he will sign it if it passes the Senate.
On February 28, Texas Representative Phil King (R-Weathersford) introduced HB 1661. It would change the vote test for a party to remain on the ballot from 5% for any statewide office (or 2% for Governor), to 10% for any statewide office. King had no Democratic opponent in 2006, but he did have a Libertarian who polled 19.6% of the vote against King. Apparently King would have preferred an election in which he had no opponent at all.
The median vote test for a party to remain on the ballot, in the 50 states, is 2%.
