As state legislative sessions get underway across the country, the last week of January has seen a significant number of new bills introduced aiming to alter the rules governing elections. Lawmakers appear to be wasting no time in putting forward proposals that could change the electoral system in their states. The proposals cover a wide range of topics, from party switching to the process of gathering signatures for ballot initiatives.

In Tennessee, bills have been introduced in each house that would bar naturalized citizens from running for Congress in a party primary. The identical bills, SB 1825 by Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) and HB 2036 by Representative Johnny Garrett (R-Goodlettsville), face significant constitutional questions. Ballot Access News noted that such a law, if enacted, would violate the U.S. Supreme Court decision U.S. Term Limits v. Thornton, which held that states cannot add to the qualifications for Congress that are already mentioned in the U.S. Constitution.

Meanwhile, in Washington, the legislature is considering a pair of bills that would make it illegal to pay initiative circulators on a per-signature basis. The proposals are SB 5973, introduced by Senator Javier Valdez (D-Seattle), and a companion bill in the House, HB 2260, by Representative Sharlett Mena (D-Tacoma).

Other states are also seeing new election-related proposals. In Mississippi, Representative Bob Evans (D-Monticello) has introduced HB 760, a bill stipulating that if an elected official changes political parties or switches to or from independent status, that official is deemed to have resigned their office. This proposal appears to be linked with the Forward Party gaining a new state legislator via party switch last year, with Republican State Sen. Dan Thatcher of Utah defecting from the GOP. He was then replaced by Sen. Emily Buss by party selection.

In Hawaii, HB 1716, introduced by Representative Mahina Poepoe (D-Molokai), aims to alter ballot access rules. The bill would allow political parties that have been continuously ballot-qualified for twenty years to remain so without having to meet a vote test, provided they continue to run a candidate in every election. The Green and Libertarian Parties would be the primary beneficiaries of this change if the bill becomes law.

Finally, the Kansas House Elections Committee has introduced HB 2447 to restore presidential primaries in the state. The bill would only apply to parties that already use a primary system for nominations, which in Kansas are the Republican and Democratic Parties. Other qualified parties that nominate by convention would be unaffected by the legislation.