On May 17, 57.2% of the British Columbia voters voted to change their voting system to a more proportional system. However, the law required the system to pass with 60%, so it didn’t pass. However, advocates for alternative voting systems are buoyed up by knowing that a substantial majority of the voters voted for the system, and new proposals will be brought forward.
On May 17, the Oregon House of Representatives passed HB 2614, which makes it illegal for a registered party member to sign an independent candidate petition. The vote was 45-11. The bill now goes to the Senate Rules Committee. The “no” votes were cast by 6 Democrats (Buckley, Galizio, March, Roblan) and 5 Republicans (Boquist, Bruun, Kropf, Nelson and Olson).
On May 16, the Louisiana State Senate amended SB 53 and passed it 30-2. The original bill set up a closed primary system for congressional elections. The amended bill is entirely different. It restores Louisiana congressional elections to the schedule used between 1978 and 1996. All candidates run in October, and if anyone polls 50% or more, that person is deemed elected and no November election is held. If no one gets 50% in October, a run-off is held in November.
This is very odd behavior on the part of the State Senate, since the system SB 53 sets up was thrown out by the US Supreme Court in Foster v Love, 522 US 67 (1997), a unanimous decision. The US Supreme Court decision was based on the fact that an old federal law tells the states to hold their congressional elections in November. SB 53 tries to avoid the legal problem by saying that even when the first round in October produces a winner, the “winner” is not “declared elected” until November. This is laughable. The US Supreme Court decision said, “When the federal statutes speak of the election of a Senator or Representative, they plainly refer to the combined actions of voters and officials meant to make a final selection of an officeholder.” Holding an election in October but pretending that it didn’t happen until November is playing make-believe. It will be interesting to see what happens in the Louisiana House. In recent years, the Louisiana House has been friendly to closed primaries, whereas the Louisiana Senate has been the bastion of support for the non-partisan “top two” system.
On May 16, the Alabama legislature adjourned. The legislature failed to pass HB 100, which would have moved the presidential primary from June, to the Saturday after the New Hampshire presidential primary. The legislature also failed to pass any of the ballot access reform bills.
Last month Georgia HB 244 was signed into law. Among other things, it changes Georgia special elections. In the past, all Georgia special elections were non-partisan, even if the office is normally partisan (such as Congress or state legislature). All candidates in Georgia special elections qualify with no petition; they just pay the filing fee. Under HB 244, ballot access procedures remain the same for special elections, but now every candidate will be free to choose a partisan label to be printed on the ballot next to his or her name.
