On April 24, the Missouri House defeated HB 267, which would have reinstated presidential primaries. The vote was 65-56, and bills need 82 votes to pass. Many legislators abstained. Thanks to Ken Bush for this news.
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Several bills are being introduced in Pennsylvania that would let independent voters choose a partisan primary ballot. They are HB 976, HB 979, and HB 400. See this story. The reporter used the wrong term for these bills. They would set up semi-closed primaries, not “open primaries.” An “open primary” has been defined in U.S. Supreme Court opinions for 50 years as a system in which parties have primary ballots and party nominees, but on primary election day, any voter can choose any party’s primary ballot.
The Washington legislature adjourned on April 23. The only bill that passed that affects ballot access is SB 5182. It moves the declaration of candidacy deadline for non-presidential primary candidates from late May to the Friday after the first Monday in May. Assuming the Governor signs the bill, the 2024 deadline for candidates to file in the non-presidential primary will be May 10.
Bills to make voting mandatory, and to use ranked choice voting in the presidential primary, and to remove party labels from the ballot for all office except president, did not pass.
On Saturday, April 22, a Montana bill dealing with school board elections, which had passed the House, was amended to delete all the existing parts of the bill, and instead to be a bill for a top-two system in Montana in 2024 for U.S. Senate. So supporters of top-two in Montana have not given up, even though the original bill for a top-two system was already defeated.
The new bill for top-two is HB 774. The Montana legislature’s website still has not been updated to show the new language. Thanks to Apollo Pazell for this news.
On April 19, the Ohio Senate passed SJR 2 by a vote of 26-7. All Republicans voted “yes” and all Democrats voted “no.” It says that initiatives to amend the constitution need 60% to pass. It also says that the petition must contain a substantial number of signatures in all 88 counties. And it proposes to put this idea (assuming it passes the legislature) on the ballot in August 2024, at a time when the state has nothing else to vote on.
The clear intent is to change the rules before an initiative that is now circulating can qualify. That proposed initiative concerns abortion.
The House has had a similar bill, HJR 1, but even though it had a hearing on March 22, it has not advanced in the House.
Here is a story about the initiative.