Kansas Will Hold Presidential Primaries in 2024

On April 21, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly signed HB 2053, which provides for presidential primaries in 2024 for parties that are already entitled to hold primaries for other office. The bill had been defeated in the House on April 3, but on April 4 the House reconsidered and passed the bill. Candidates need a filing fee of $10,000, or 5,000 signatures. They must also have filed a declaration of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission.

The presidential primaries are not mandatory, but it is expected that both major parties will choose to have them. The 2024 primaries will be March 19. The bill only concerns the year 2024, and there is still no law that would provide for presidential primaries in years later than that.

Florida Bill, Requiring Initiatives to Pass with 66.67% of Vote, Advances

On April 19, the Florida House State Affairs Committee passed HJR 129, which would change the vote needed to pass a statewide initiative from 60% to 66.67%. The only statewide initiatives that exist in Florida are constitutional amendments. There is no procedure for an initiative to merely change a statute.

All Republicans on the committee voted in favor of the bill, and all Democrats voted against it.