In November 2022, the Washington, D.C. city council passed an ordinance letting adult residents vote for city office, whether they are citizens or not. Congress may veto ordinances passed by the D.C. city council, but this ordinance survived. Although the US House voted to cancel it, the Senate did not, and the period for congress to have done that expired February 23, 2023.
The Minnesota Senate State and Local Government had been scheduled to hear testimony on SF 1827 on Tuesday, February 28. However, the hearing was cancelled at the last moment. In anticipation of the bill, though, a press conference organized by minor parties got some publicity. See this story.
The bill would have stiffened the definition of a qualified party from a group that got 5% at either of the last two elections, to 10%.
UPDATE: the news story has a link to a video of the press conference, which is worth watching. It lasts about 35 minutes.
On February 28, the Arkansas Senate Judiciary Committee considered SB 277, the bill to improve ballot access for new and minor parties. The bill received four “yes” votes, but because there was one “No” vote, and because two members of the committee were absent, the bill didn’t move ahead. Arkansas legislative rules require bills to receive a majority of the committee members, so if someone doesn’t vote, that is the same as a “no” vote. The committee has eight members so five votes are needed.
Probably the bill will be brought up again. The Secretary of State supports the bill.
Ballot Access News
February 2023 – Volume 38, Number 9
| This issue was printed on blue paper. |
Table of Contents
On February 21, the North Dakota Senate passed SCR 4013 by 44-3. It requires initiative circulators to have lived in the state for 120 days before the first signature is collected. It bans paying initiative circulators. If the legislature passes it, it will go on the ballot in November 2024 for a public vote, because it is a constitutional amendment.
