On June 6, the Michigan House Elections Committee passed HB 4156, the bill to provide that Michigan join the National Popular Vote Plan.
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Jim Eckstrom, a columnist for the Bradford Era (a newspaper in northwest Pennsylvania) here criticizes the Democratic Party for its many attempts over the years to keep minor party and independent candidates off the ballot.
On June 19, attorneys for Indiana state government filed this brief in Indiana Green Party v Sullivan, s.d., 1:22cv-518. This is the case that challenges the number of signatures needed for independent candidates, and the nominees of unqualified parties, for statewide office. No statewide petition has succeeded in Indiana in over twenty years.
An Arizona state trial court will hear Arizona Democratic Party v No Labels on Tuesday, July 11, at 9:15 a.m. in Phoenix. This is the case in which the Democratic Party is trying to remove the No Labels Party from the ballot. The issue is whether the ten affidavits from people who represent the party should have been submitted only after the petition was completed or not. The Democratic Party argues that the affidavits were handed in too soon. The Secretary of State and No Labels argue that there is nothing wrong with submitting the affidavits before the petition was complete.
In the past, the ten affidavits, representing the leadership of the group that hopes to qualify, have always been accepted as early as the group wished. Precedents include several petitions filed by the Green Party, as well as the precedent set by Americans Elect in 2011, and by the Reform Party in 1996 and 2000.
On June 20, the Vermont Senate sent HB 429 back to committee, which effectively kills it, because the session is almost over. HB 429 would have made it impossible for someone who lost a primary to then run in the general election as an independent, or the nominee of another party.