On March 24, the Kansas Senate Federal & State Affairs Committee passed HB 2053, after amending it by stripping out the original content and inserting language setting up a presidential primary. It would be held in March. The presidential primary would only be for the use of parties that are entitled to nominate by primary (i.e., Democrats and Republicans). Smaller qualified parties in Kansas nominate by convention at their own expense.

Another bill, SB 290, which would have set up a presidential primary in May and also moved the non-presidential primary from August to May, failed to pass. That bill would have also moved the independent candidate petition deadline from August to May. Thanks to Josh Putnam for this news.

The MinnPost, a free alternative weekly in Minneapolis, has a lengthy story about the bills to change the definition of a ballot-qualified party from a group that got 5% for a statewide race at either of the last two elections, to 10%.

On March 21, the New Hampshire Senate Election Laws & Municipal Affairs Committee passed CACR9. It is a proposed constitutional amendment to say that New Hampshire shall hold the nation’s earliest presidential primary in each presidential election year. If the legislature passes this bill, the voters would vote on the amendment in November 2024.

This seems like a silly idea. New Hampshire cannot by itself guarantee that it always has the nation’s earliest presidential primary, so putting that idea into the State Constitution won’t accomplish its goal.