Eight years ago, there was a competition still in play between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton when the California primary rolled around. But, even though the Democratic Party allowed independent votes to be counted toward the selection of convention delegates, then Secretary of State Alex Padilla refused to eliminate the arcane and undemocratic barriers to voting left over from partisan primary rules more than half a century old.

Photo By: Philip Oroni / Unsplash

The Kansas House approved a bill Thursday that aims to make it substantially harder for independent candidates to qualify for the statewide ballot. Not only does the bill more than quadruple the current signature requirement, but it eliminates the ability to pay a filing fee in lieu of signature gathering.

Here is what readers need to know.

The election day colloquially referred to as Super Tuesday used to mean something. It's an election date traditionally held in early March and is known for hosting the most presidential preference elections on a single day each election cycle.

In 2024, Super Tuesday falls on March 5. In most cases, states that will hold presidential preference contests on this date are in the middle of early voting, including the nation's most populous state: California.