On February 25, the New Mexico Senate passed SB 180 by 23-13. The bill has many election law provisions, among them a provision increasing the petition requirement for the non-presidential nominees of qualified minor parties, from 1% of the last gubernatorial vote, to 2%.

New Mexico is the only state that requires the nominees of qualified minor parties to submit a petition to be on the November ballot. The idea was passed in New Mexico in 1969, immediately after the state’s first Hispanic third party, the Peoples Constitutional Party, had appeared on the ballot in 1968.

The Senate vote was party-line. Every vote in favor of the bill was cast by a Democrat; every vote against it was cast by a Republican. If the bill passes the House and is signed into law, the chief victim will be the Green Party, which is the most active qualified minor party in New Mexico. The Libertarian Party, under the law, is a major party and is not affected by the bill.

In order for the Green Party to become a major party (one that nominates by primary) it would need to poll at least 5% for a statewide race. But putting a candidate on the ballot to try to do that will be much more difficult if SB 180 becomes law.

On February 1, the Virginia House Privileges & Elections Committee defeated HB 1862. It would have provided that if a presidential elector votes for someone in the electoral college who is not the party nominee, he would deem to have resigned, and would be replaced by the others.

On February 15, the South Dakota Senate passed SB 40 by 18-16. It changes the nomination procedure for major parties to nominate for Attorney General, Treasurer, Secretary of State, Auditor, Public Service Commissioner, and School Commissioner. Currently parties nominate by convention for those offices. The bill would change that to nomination by primary.