On March 12, the Idaho Senate passed SB 1415, the bill to reinstate presidential primaries in Idaho. The bill would set them in May, and if the bill continues to advance quickly, it could take effect this year. Idaho gives all qualified parties a presidential primary. The Idaho Libertarian and Constitution Parties would probably participate.
On March 12, Idaho Governor Brad Little signed HB 661, which moves the independent presidential petition deadline from March to August. Idaho thus becomes the second state that has improved its petition deadline owing to lawsuits filed by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
On March 13, the Oklahoma House passed HB 1105. As introduced, it required sponsors of an initiative to pay a fee of $1,000 before starting the petition drive, although the money would be refunded if the initiative qualified. On the floor, the bill was amended to also provide that anyone who circulates the petition must have a “criminal history investigation performed by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.” If a petitioner were found to have a history of conviction, that would not prevent him or her from circulating the petition, but the record would be in a public file maintained by the Secretary of State. Thanks to D. Frank Robinson for this news.
This story says that the Democratic National Committee has set up a group to attack the ballot access filings of various independent and minor party presidential candidates. The Democratic Committee members don’t seem to understand that this type of activity comes to public attention, and it makes a certain share of voters develop feelings of hostility toward the Democratic Party.
The article says some Democratic leaders blame Jill Stein for their loss in the 2016 election, even though the exit polls show that Jill Stein did not cost the Democrats any state in the electoral college.
Democratic leaders also seem oblivious to social science and polling research that shows sometimes Democratic nominees benefit from the existence of “left” candidates running outside the two major parties.
On March 4, the Republican Party of Catoosa County, Georgia, refused to print the names of four candidates for County Commission on the party’s May 21 primary ballot. Three of the candidates, Vanita Hullander, Jeff Long, and Larry Black, are incumbents running for re-election to their four-year terms. The fourth candidate, Steven Henry, is not an incumbent.
The county Republican Party has set up a procedure whereby each candidates is expected to meet with the party’s committee, and if the party committee doesn’t feel they are loyal Republicans, it claims the right to bar the candidates from its primary ballot. The Republican Party cites court precedents letting the state Republican Party keep David Duke off its presidential primary ballot in 1992. The candidates won a court injunction in state court on March 5. The opinion in Henry v Catoosa County Republican Party, Superior Court su-2024-205, says the Duke precedent does not control, because state law lets a party decide whom to list on its presidential primary ballot, but does not give any authority to parties with primaries to exclude candidates in other races. Here is the opinion. The party so far has refused to comply and it may be held in contempt in another court proceeding later this month. thanks to ElectionLawBlog for the link.
