Welcome to the Tuesday, July 7, Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. New Jersey voters to decide statewide congressional primaries
2. How do you run for President? A look at ballot access deadlines
3. Six state legislators in five states left office since June 30

New Jersey voters to decide statewide congressional primaries

July is usually a slow month for elections. There were no statewide primaries held in July 2016 and July 2018 only saw statewide primary runoffs in Alabama and Georgia. Due to the coronavirus, two states—Maine and New Jersey—will hold primary elections this month, starting with today’s Garden State’s primaries.

On April 8, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) issued an executive order postponing New Jersey's primary elections from June 2 to July 7. New Jersey is one of fifteen states to defer its primaries due to COVID-19. He issued another executive order May 15 providing for expanded mail-in voting for these elections. All registered, active Democratic and Republican voters automatically received mail-in ballots. Unaffiliated and inactive voters received mail-in ballot applications. Murphy also directed each county to open at least one polling place in each municipality for in-person voting.

New Jersey voters will decide the major party primaries for president and contests for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Cory Booker (D), all 12 of the state’s U.S. House districts, special elections for one state Senate and one state Assembly seat, and municipal elections. Ballotpedia has designated three contests in the state as battleground primaries, including both the Democratic and Republican primaries in New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District.

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How do you run for President? A look at ballot access deadlines 

You probably already heard this - on July 4, musician Kanye West announced via Twitter that he was running for president. Since he hasn’t participated in any of the caucus or primary contests, he can run as an independent candidate or the candidate of a minor party. 

In four states—Indiana (11), New Mexico (5), North Carolina (15), and Texas (38)—the filing deadlines for independent presidential candidates have already passed. Filing deadlines are approaching in the remaining 46 states and Washington, D.C. This means a candidate could get on the ballot if he or she meets state-specific filing requirements. All together, these 46 states and D.C. account for 469 of the 538 Electoral College votes. 

The table below lists the filing deadlines and petition signature requirements in July. States are listed in chronological order. Visit this page for the complete table.

In some states, it’s easier for a presidential candidate to get on the ballot by affiliating with or forming a new political party. For a comparison of independent candidate requirements versus minor-party candidate requirements, see the April and July editions of Ballot Access News, edited by Richard Winger.

In 2016, Evan McMullin ran for president as an independent candidate after announcing he would do so on Aug. 8, 2016. According to National Public Radio, the political group Better for America and political strategist Rick Wilson aided McMullin's campaign. McMullin appeared as an independent candidate in 11 states, was a write-in candidate in 32 states, and was not eligible to receive votes in seven states.

Six state legislators in five states left office since June 30

Six state legislators in New York, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Arkansas have resigned or left office since June 30. Five of the six resigned and one passed away. So far in 2020, there have been 77 state legislative vacancies in 36 states.

The process for filling those vacancies varies from state to state. In Arkansas, Mississippi, and New York, the governor must call a special election to fill the vacancy. In North Carolina, the governor appoints a replacement. 

Through July 1, 2019, there were 95 state legislative vacancies in 38 states through July 1. There were a total of 178 vacancies in 45 states that year.

Twenty-five states fill vacancies in the state legislature through special elections. Twenty-two states fill vacancies through appointments and three states fill vacancies through a hybrid system that uses both appointments and special elections.

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