Oregon Bill to Let Voters Choose Which Party to Support When Candidate is Nominated by Two Parties

Posted on by April 10, 2023
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Oregon permits fusion, but when a candidate has the nomination of two parties, his or her name only appears once on the general election ballot, with both party labels. Representative David Gomberg has introduced HB 3593. It provides that when a candidate has the nomination of two parties, his or her name appears twice on the ballot, once for each party label. The bill says that if a voter “X’s” both boxes for that candidate, the vote is deemed to be cast for the smaller of the two parties.

The bill had a hearing on April 6, but the Committee hasn’t voted on the bill yet.

Two Maine Bills to Improve Ballot Access May Pass in Special Session That Began on April 5

Posted on by April 10, 2023
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The Maine regular session of the legislature ended on March 30, but the legislature convened in special session on April 5. Two bills that improve ballot access are likely to be considered in the special session. They have already passed the policy committees. They are LD 769, which eases the definition of a qualified party; and LD 1320, which lets independent voters sign petitions to place candidates on a primary ballot.

LD 769 eliminates the requirement that after a qualified party has been on the ballot for four years, it must increase its registration from 5,000 to 10,000. Instead, both new parties and old ones alike would need 5,000 registrants.

North Dakota House Votes to Override Governor’s Veto of Bill That Bans Fargo From Continuing to Use Approval Voting

Posted on by April 10, 2023
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On Monday, April 10, the North Dakota House voted to override the veto of HB 1273. Governor Doug Burgum had vetoed it last week. It prohibits Fargo from continuing to use Approval Voting for elections for its own officers. Now the Senate will also consider whether to override the veto.