Illinois Congressman Sean Casten, a Democrat who represents some of the Chicago suburbs and who has been in Congress since 2018, has introduced a constitutional amendment to alter the U.S. Senate, and also to somewhat alter the electoral college. Here is the text.

It would add twelve U.S. Senators to be elected at-large. Voters of the District of Columbia and U.S. territories would be allowed to vote for these Senators. Four of them would be elected in each election. Ranked choice voting would be used to elect them.

The proposed amendment says nothing about how candidates for Senate-at-large would get on the ballot. Obviously there would need to be a federal ballot access law, because it would make no sense if the various candidates were on the ballot in some states but not other states.

The amendment also says there would be twelve new presidential electors, also elected at-large. These candidates would also need a federal ballot access law. Thanks to Fairvote for this news.

The Asheville, North Carolina daily newspaper, the Citizen Times, has this op-ed criticizing the North Carolina law that does not permit anyone to serve on a county election board, or the state election board, unless they are a member of one of the two largest parties. The author is Moe Davis, a former Democratic Party congressional nominee and a former administrative law judge.

The op-ed does not mention that the law is currently being challenged in U.S. District Court.

on Saturday, February 4, the Democratic National Committee determined that in 2024, the early Democratic presidential primaries and caucuses should proceed on this calendar: South Carolina on February 3, New Hampshire and Nevada on February 6, Georgia on February 13, Michigan on February 27, and all others in the period March through early June.

However, the Republican National Committee has no plans to change its early calendar, which still consists of Iowa first, then New Hampshire, then South Carolina, then Nevada, all in February; other states March through June.

If the New Hampshire legislature ignores the Democratic plan, the Democratic Party may deprive New Hampshire Democrats of part or all of their national convention delegation, and also provide that New Hampshire Democratic delegates be chosen in caucuses, or in a party-administered primary. The Democratic Party will probably also not be able to persuade the Georgia legislature to make the needed date change. But the Michigan primary has already been moved to the February 27 date, and Nevada Democrats are free to hold their caucuses regardless of state election laws.

In 2020, the only February presidential primaries were in New Hampshire (February 11) and South Carolina (February 29).