The Free and Equal presidential debate will occur in New York City on February 29, Thursday, at 8 p.m. eastern. Candidates are two Libertarians seeking the Libertarian nomination (Lars Mapstead and Chase Oliver), two candidates seeking the Peace & Freedom nomination (Claudia De la Cruz and Jasmine Sherman), and one seeking the Green Party nomination (Jill Stein).
See it at https://youtube.com/@freeandequal
or just go to the freeandequal.org website.
Here is the story from NBC News.
The story is incorrect to the extent that Amash left the Republican Party for the Libertarian Party, not to be an Independent, in his fifth and last term in the US House.
On February 28, the Mississippi Senate Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committee passed SB 2522, to restore the initiative process that was stricken from the State Constitution a few years ago by the State Supreme Court. The bill provides for a petition of 10% of the registered voters, a very difficult hurdle. Also it provides that initiatives need 60% of the popular vote to pass.
Earlier the House had passed a somewhat similar bill, but the Senate has not passed it, and the House bill did not require a 60% vote.
On February 28, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. submitted affidavits from four individuals in his lawsuit over whether his circulators can petition at the polls on March 5, when Maine holds presidential primaries. Team Kennedy v Bellows, 1:24cv-52.
The evidence shows that numerous town clerks had told the Kennedy campaign that they could petition at the polls. Other Kennedy evidence shows that petitioning at the polls is being permitted for various other independent candidates, and various Democratic and Republican candidates seeking access to the June primary. Finally, the evidence shows that petitioning at the polls is a long-standing tradition in Maine primaries and also at odd-year general elections.
The Secretary of State says independent presidential petitions can’t be circulated on the day of a presidential primary because that would cauce conversation at the polling places about the presidential election. Kennedy’s evidence points out that technically, his petition is for candidates for presidential elector.
Briefs in the case are likely to be filed later today, by both sides.
On February 2, the Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously put Dean Phillips on the Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary ballot. The law says candidates discussed in the news media should be on presidential primary ballots automatically, but the Wisconsin Election Commission still wouldn’t list Phillips, so he sued. Phillips v Wisconsin Election Commission, 2024AP000138-OA. Here is the 12-page decision.
