Three Oregon State Senators Appear to be Barred from Running for Re-Election Under New Provision

Posted on by May 17, 2023
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Last year, the voters of Oregon passed a ballot measure, providing that if a state legislators misses as many as ten sessions of a legislative session, that legislator is barred from running for re-election.

Three Oregon State Senators have now missed ten sessions, so they apparently can’t file for re-election. They are Republicans Dennis Linthicum and Daniel Bonham, and Independent Party Senator Brian Boquist. Boquist had been re-elected as a Republican in 2020 to a four-year term. In 2021 he had switched his registration from Republican to the Independent Party.

Many Republican legislators in Oregon have been boycotting some days of the session, to protest the likelihood that certain bills with Democratic support are passing, even over the intense opposition of most Oregon Republican legislators.

Minnesota Legislature is Likely to Stiffen Definition of a Qualified Party

Posted on by May 16, 2023
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The Minnesota omnibus bill, SF 3230, has been amended to include a provision making the definition of a ballot-qualified party more severe. It raises the vote test from 5% to 8%. Assuming that becomes law, it will give Minnesota the nation’s fourth highest vote test. Only Alabama, New Jersey and Virginia will have a higher percentage for the votes needed for party status.

The bill also now says in addition, a qualified party must have an organization in about two-thirds of the state legislative districts (45 of 67), or alternatively about two-thirds of the counties.

The bill does not take effect until November 2024, so at least if the bill passes, the Legal Marijuana Now Party will be on the ballot during 2024. Minnesota law permits parties to change their names.

Minnesota’s petition for party status, 5%, is very likely unconstitutionally difficult. The bill does not change the party petition. Given its history of not having been used since it was created in 1913, it probably violates McLain v Meier, a 1980 decision of the Eighth Circuit that struck down North Dakota’s party petition, which had existed since 1939 and had only been used once, in 1976. Minnesota and North Dakota are both in the Eighth Circuit. No one has ever before sued Minnesota over its party petition.

Most of the Texas Bills That Restrict Ballot Access Seem Unlikely to Pass

Posted on by May 16, 2023
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Many bills are pending in the Texas legislature to make ballot access for minor parties and/or independent candidates worse, but only one of them appears likely to pass. That bill is SB 994, which pertains to filing fees for parties that nominate by convention. It has passed the Senate and will soon get a vote in the House. It would re-impose filing fees for candidates who seek the nomination of a convention party (i.e., Libertarian and Green Parties). The law already provides for such fees, but technical problems with the old law have prevented it from going into effect ever since it was passed a few years ago.

Restrictive bills not likely to pass include SB 1660, raising the vote test for a party to remain on the ballot to 10%; SB 1705, to require all qualified parties to nominate by primary; SB 2532, to double filing fees; SB 2271, also to double filing fees.

Turkish Presidential Election

Posted on by May 15, 2023
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Turkey held a presidential election on May 14, 2023. Parties that had polled as much as 5% of the vote in the preceding parliamentary election were on the ballot automatically. Others needed 100,000 signatures by March 27. Eleven candidates tried to petition, but only two obtained enough signatures. Four candidates were on the ballot: two qualified under the 5% vote test, and two by petition.

No one received a majority, so there is a run-off on March 28. Here is the wikipedia page about the election.