HB2393

THE CONTEXT: A presidential preference election (PPE) gives qualified electors the opportunity to express the elector's preference for the presidential candidate of the political party as indicated on the elector's voter registration. A PPE must be held on the Tuesday immediately following March 15 in each year in which the U.

WHAT THE BILL DID: Requires a political party that chooses to select a nominee for president by a vote that is open to the entire political party membership to provide a method of voting that allows for a person with a disability or an absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter to vote.

WHY IT MATTERED: The practical reason for this bill was to turn the Legislature's standard for presidential preference into an enforceable rule. It would require a political party to provide for a method of voting in the PPE that allows a person with a disability or absent uniformed services voters or overseas voters as defined in the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Voting Act (UOCAVA) to vote if the political party: a) chooses not to participate in the publicly administered PPE; and b) chooses to select a nominee for U.S. President by a vote that is open to the entire membership of the party, and would also stipulate that if the political party chooses not to participate in the publicly administered PPE and holds a vote open to the entire membership of the party, then the party may choose the means of voting, rather than leave the current rule unchanged.