Texas Lawsuit Over Filing Fees for Convention Candidates is Delayed Until Texas Legislative Session Ends

On May 1, U.S. District Court Robert Pitman delayed proceedings in the pending case over filing fees for candidates of parties that nominate by convention. The Texas Libertarian Party plaintiffs had asked for this delay, to see what the Texas legislature does this year. For instance, there is a bill that has made some progress that would force the party to nominate by primary, which would change the case. The case is Bilyeu v Esparza, w.d., 1:21cv-1089. Proceedings in the case will commence on August 1.

No Labels Party Registration Tallies

No Labels qualified as a party in Arizona in March 2023. Although the Secretary of State of Arizona has not published a registration tally since January 2023, Maricopa County, the most populous county in the state, keeps a running tally. As of May 4, No Labels has 1,121 registrants. Thanks to John Geyer for this information. The state will have a new registration tally later this month.

No Labels qualified as a party in Colorado in January 2023. The May 1 2023 tally shows No Labels has 807 registrants.

No Labels is also qualified as a Limited Political Party in Alaska, which means it is on the ballot for president, but no other office. In Alaska, limited political parties do not get a registration tally.

No Labels is also qualified in Florida, but the Secretary of State of Florida does not post the number of registrants in qualified minor parties on his website so the number is difficult to get, except just prior to any statewide primary or election.

No Labels qualified in Oregon in March, but the Secretary of State’s website doesn’t list any No Labels registrants for the May 1 tally, although it probably will for the June 1 tally.

Vermont Legislator Switches From Republican Party to Libertarian Party

On May 3, Vermont Representative Jarrod Sammis announced that he has left the Republican Party and joined the Libertarian Party. See this story. Sammis is in his first term, and represents the Rutland-3 district.

In Vermont, the voter registration form does not ask for party, so party affiliation is simply by the individual’s own declaration. Thanks to Bill Redpath for this news.

Pennsylvania Governor Supports Moving 2024 Primary for All Office from April to March

According to this story, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro supports moving the 2024 primary for all office from April to March. The article says the main opposition to the move comes from people concerned that primary candidates would need to petition in the Christmas-New Years week. It doesn’t seem to occur to Pennsylvania legislators that they don’t need to require primary candidates to submit petitions. Over half the states do not require primary candidates to submit petitions to get on a primary ballot. Instead they depend on filing fees. Pennsylvania already has filing fees, but they are minimal amounts of money.