Nevada Bill to Move Deadline for Declarations of Candidacy from March to February

Posted on by February 11, 2023
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The Nevada Secretary of State has proposed SB 53, which moves the deadline for candidates to file a declaration of candidacy from March to February. The bill even applies to qualified parties that nominate by convention, and to independent candidates. Such deadlines are especially inappropriate for independent candidates, because one of the reasons all states provide for independent candidate ballot access is to give voters another alternative if they are dissatisfied with the choices offered by political parties.

Similar deadlines for early declarations of candidacy has been struck down in Kentucky, West Virginia, and South Carolina.

Hawaii Bill, Changing Order of Candidates Names on Ballot from Alphabetical to Random, Advances

Posted on by February 11, 2023
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On February 9, the Hawaii Senate Judiciary Committee passed SB 47. It changes the order of candidates’ names on ballots. Current law provides for alphabetical order of candidate surnames. The bill changes it to random order, with rotation from precinct to precinct, so that all candidates have a chance to appear at the top of the list in some precincts.

The vote was 4-1. The bill is sponsored by Senator Karl Rhoads (D-Honolulu), who is Chair of the Judiciary Committee.

Montana Bill to Let Candidates in Non-Partisan Races List a Party on the Ballot

Posted on by February 11, 2023
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Montana State Senator Greg Hertz (R-Polson) has introduced SB 200. It lets candidates for non-partisan office, such as judicial and school board races, list a party affiliation of up to three words, which would appear on the ballot next to their name. Montana does not have registration by party. If this bill passed as written, apparently any partisan label that is no longer than three words would be allowed. The bill does not specify the party name must be the name of a ballot-qualified party.

The bill had a hearing in the Senate State Administration Committee on February 8. The Committee hasn’t acted on the bill yet.

A Mystery Concerning the Forward Party

Posted on by February 11, 2023
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One of the co-founders of the Forward Party, along with Andrew Yang, is former Republican congressmember David Jolly of Florida. Yet the Forward Party still hasn’t qualified as a political party in Florida.

Florida lets any group become a qualified party if it submits a list of its officers and its bylaws. Florida has thirteen qualified parties, more than any other state. Here is the list. For some unknown reason, the Forward Party is not on the list.

A qualified party in Florida is entitled to its own primary, although no primary is actually held unless more than a single candidate files for any particular office.