The Minnesota Senate Elections Committee will consider SF 1827 on Tuesday, March 14, at 3 p.m. This is the bill that changes the definition of a qualified party from a group that got 5% for a statewide race at either of the last two elections, to 10%.

Minnesota committees require witnesses to sign up the day before the hearing. One of the witnesses who has signed up is former Governor Jesse Ventura. Presumably he will speak against the bill. The Independence Party of Minnesota was launched in 1994 by running Dean Barkley for U.S. Senate. Barkley polled 5.4% in 1994, so the Independence Party attained qualified status. If the vote test had been 10% back in 1994, the party might never have survived. It elected Ventura in 1998. It had changed its name to the Reform Party in 1996, although it changed it back to Independence in 2000. It also elected a State Senator in 2002.

On March 13, the New York Green and Libertarian Parties cert petition with the U.S. Supreme Court. Libertarian Party of New York v New York State Board of Elections. There is no case number yet. The brief concerns the 2020 ballot access changes in New York. The legislature tripled the statewide petition for independent candidates and the nominees of unqualified parties, from 15,000 to 45,000 signatures. The legislature did not expand the petitioning period, which lasts six weeks in April and May.

The legislature also changed the definition of a party from a group that polled 50,000 votes for Governor, to one that polled 2% for the office at the top of the ballot, every two years (president/governor).

UPDATE: Here is the Appendix for the cert petition.

On Saturday, the New Mexico House Judiciary Committee passed SB 180. It is a very long omnibus election law bill. Among its provisions, it doubles the number of signatures needed by minor party non-presidential nominees, from 1% of the last gubernatorial vote, to 2%.

Even the 1% petition has kept all minor party non-presidential nominees off the ballot for statewide office, ever since 2012, when the Independent American Party managed to get the signatures for its U.S. Senate nominee.

Presidential candidates are exempt from the nominee petition requirement.

It is clear that the Judiciary Committee members did not understand the provision doubling the number of signatures. The bill’s sponsor told the committee that the witnesses against it were mistaken. The witnesses against the provision were limited to one minute, with no opportunity for the committee members to ask questions of the witness. The witnesses included two Green Party activists, and me.