Georgia Bill for February Presidential Primary Signed Into Law

May 30th, 2007

On May 29, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue signed HB 487. It moves the presidential primary from March to February 5.



Cary, North Carolina, Will Use IRV This Fall

May 29th, 2007

On May 24, the city council of Cary, North Carolina, voted 4-3 to use Instant-Runoff Voting for its city council elections on October 9. Four seats are up, two district and two at-large.

Cary’s official slogan is “The Technology Town of North Carolina.” It is near Raleigh. The town is responding to a bill passed last year that permits any ten cities or counties use IRV to elect their own officials. Cary expects to save $62,000, since it will not need to hold an old-fashioned run-off in November 2007.

Hopes Dim For Minor Party Ballot Access Reform in Illinois This Year

May 29th, 2007

As has been noted, the Illinois Senate had earlier passed a bill drastically easing ballot access for minor party candidates as well as fixing the constitutional infirmities with independent candidate ballot access. But the House had passed a bill that only fixes the constitutional problems with independent candidate ballot access. It is looking increasingly likely that the House approach will prevail.

The Illinois legislature is foolish not to fix problems with minor party ballot access. Existing law says the nominee of an unqualified party, and an independent, running for US House, needs only 5,000 signatures in years following redistricting. But in all other years, they need a petition of 5% of the last vote cast, which is sometimes as high as 14,000 or 15,000 signatures. It is likely that a new lawsuit will be filed, arguing that if 5,000 signatures is enough in years ending in the digit “2″, then there can be no strong state interest in having almost triple that number of signatures in other election years.

Cynthia McKinney Radio Interview Asks About Potential of Her Being Green Candidate for President

May 28th, 2007

On May 25, former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney participated in a 23-minute interview on Radio Station WBAI. The hosts asked her about the possibility that she may seek the Green Party presidential nomination in 2008. She said, “With the failure of the Democratic Congress to repeal the Patriot Act, the Secret Evidence Act, the Military Tribunals Act, I have to seriously question my relationship with the Democratic Party. The idea has not been ruled out. All the current Democrats running for president support the principle of potential military action against Iran; none of them is for impeachment of the President. They can’t speak for me. I am open to a lot of ideas in 2008.” Thanks to Darcy Richardson for this news.

Election-Day Registration Bills Will Receive Massachusetts Legislative Hearing

May 28th, 2007

On May 30, the Massachusetts Joint Election Law Committee will hear HB646 and SB446. Those bills provide for election-day registration. Eight states already have election-day registration: Maine, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. Also, North Dakota in effect has election-day registration, since it doesn’t have voter registration at all.

Delaware Bill to Ban Fusion

May 28th, 2007

The Delaware House Administration Committee will soon hear HB 177, which would ban fusion. The bill has 10 co-sponsors, including legislative leaders from both major parties. The Delaware legislature sits until June 30. Two ballot-qualified parties in Delaware, the Working Families Party and the Independent Party, are fighting the bill.

Georgia Greens Circulating Petition for Statewide Access in 2008

May 27th, 2007

The Georgia Green Party launched its statewide petition drive in Athens, Georgia, on May 5, and collected 500 signatures the first day. The party needs 44,089 valid signatures by July 8, 2008.

No Green Party candidate has ever appeared on the Georgia ballot for a federal or state office, with the party label. The statewide petition is 1% of the number of registered voters, and all district and county petitions are 5% of the number of registered voters in that district or county. The only other states in which the word “Green Party” have never appeared on the ballot for a state or federal office are Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming.

South Carolina Republican Presidential Primary Will Probably be Earlier than January 29

May 27th, 2007

The South Carolina Republican Party administers its own presidential primary with no help from state or local elections officials. Therefore, the party is free to set the date whenever it wants. The state chairman of the party has hinted to the press that the state party will move the primary so that it is earlier than January 29. The South Carolina Republican Party’s goal is to have the 2nd earliest state presidential primary in the nation (after New Hampshire). Since Florida’s presidential primary will be on January 29, that will probably propel an earlier South Carolina Republican primary. Under national Republican Party rules, the state party has until September 4, 2007 to settle on the primary date.

Tennessee Lawsuit Likely to be Filed in Mid-June

May 27th, 2007

The Tennessee Constitution, Green and Libertarian Parties are likely to file a federal lawsuit in June 2007, challenging that state’s procedures for getting a party on the ballot. Tennessee’s petition is so difficult, no group has used it since 1968. It requires a petition signed by 2.5% of the last gubernatorial vote. The wording says the signers are members. The deadline is not set forth in the law, but election administrators say it is approximately four months before the primary. Groups that have tried to complete this petition, and failed, include the Constitution Party, the Reform Party, the Populist Party of the 1980’s, and the Green Party.

The only states which have had no qualified parties on the ballot (other than the Democratic and Republican Parties) in the last 30 years are Tennessee and New Jersey. Also, Georgia has had no third parties on the ballot who were qualified for district office in over 30 years, but several on the ballot who were qualified for statewide office, including the Libertarian Party continuously since 1988.

COFOE Annual Board Meeting June 16

May 27th, 2007

The Coalition for Free & Open Elections (COFOE) holds its annual Board meeting on Saturday, June 16, at 10 a.m., in New York city. COFOE is 22 years old. It is a loose-knit coalition of the nation’s nationally-organized minor parties, plus other organizations that care about ballot access. This year, the chief topic on the agenda will probably be Oklahoma. Observers to the meeting are expected from the Working Families Party and Unity08.

COFOE is financed by membership dues. Members contribute $25 per year, and in return receive a free subscription to Ballot Access News. COFOE income, though relatively small, has helped finance ballot access lawsuits. When these lawsuits win, the attorney on COFOE’s side receives attorneys’ fees from the states. Then the attorney rebates back to COFOE any contributions from COFOE.

Unfortunately, even though two important ballot access lawsuits that had been backed by COFOE won last year, neither of the states involved (Ohio and Illinois) has paid COFOE’s attorneys their attorneys’ fees yet. Ohio says the Secretary of State’s budget is empty and the attorney must wait for the new fiscal year, which starts July 2007. Illinois admits it owes attorneys fees but is fighting over the amount, a fight which may take months to resolve. In the meantime, COFOE’s treasury is almost empty. This is a serious problem. COFOE intends to arrange an amicus curiae brief in the Pennsylvania ballot access case soon to be filed in the U.S. Supreme Court. Also, COFOE has already committed to helping launch a lawsuit against North Carolina’s law on how independent candidates for US House get on the ballot (the law is so severe, no independent candidate for US House has ever appeared on a government-printed ballot in North Carolina).

Please consider joining COFOE. One can send a check made out to COFOE for $25 and postally mailing it to PO Box 470296, San Francisco Ca 94147. Or, one can use PayPal. If you wish to use PayPal, contact Richard Winger at richardwinger@yahoo.com for instructions. As a member, you will receive Ballot Access News in the postal mail. The June 1 issue is in the mail now, and will be of special interest to anyone who is interested in Oklahoma.

 

 

Paper Issues:

Blog Archives Syndication

Subscribe to Ballot Access News via PayPal. Subscriptions are $15 for 12 issues a year ($20 foreign). Additional donations are welcome.

Subscribe to Ballot Access News via PayPal.

If you use your credit card to pay via PayPal, use this button.
New Feature:
Search Ballot Access News

Search ballot-access.org
Search WWW

 

Access to this site is free. Your donations support this site and the activities of Richard Winger in lobbying for free and open elections.

To subscribe via mail, click here and print out the form to mail.

Welcome to the OFFICIAL online home of Ballot Access News, a non-partisan newsletter reporting on the trials and tribulations of folks trying to put candidates on the ballot in the United States of America. There are many surprisingly restrictive ballot access laws in this country, which the average voter has no knowledge or conception of; part of our purpose here (besides reporting on progress made) is to report on these restrictive ballot access laws so that more people are aware of them. I hope you find these materials interesting and exciting; if you do, you can support the newsletter by subscribing!

Ballot Access News is edited and published by Richard Winger, the nation's leading expert on ballot access legal issues.

Issues available:

2008:

2007:

2006:

2005:

2004:

2003:

2002:

2001:

2000:

1999:

1998:

1997:

1996:

1995:

1994:

1993:

  • 1993 Issues not yet available online

Essays by Richard Winger:

Additional articles/essays:

  • Politics, Soviet-style by S. Philip Gordon, regarding recent ballot access issues in Georgia – the US state, not the Russian territority!

Extra Features:

Other information:

  • Here's how to subscribe to Ballot Access News!

  • Here's information on Presidential Ballot Access as well as the vote totals of recent Presidential elections.

  • Here are some other sites which may also be of interest:

    Project Vote-Smart

    Project Vote Smart is a citizens' organization dedicated to serving all Americans with accurate and unbiased information for electoral decision-making. It was inaugerated in 1992 by former US Presidents Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, and other leaders. Its webpage offers information about all ballot-listed candidates for all federal and state office.
    [Added:040729]

    The ACE Project
    An interesting site concerning itself with the "Administration and Cost of Elections", including issues of fairness and regulatory approaches in various countries. They seem to be almost blind to the ways that third parties in the USA are harmed by campaign finance rules crafted for the problems characteristic of the larger parties, or the ways that third parties would be disenfranchised by various proposed rules, but this is nevertheless a useful resource, particularly for the international comparisons it makes.
    [Added:001206]

    "Unofficial" B.A.N. Page

    At first, it looks like there's not much here. But then you follow the "Charts" link, and click on one of the listed candidates, and you'll get some truly wonderful nationwide maps of voting patterns.
    [Checked:991014]

    ThirdPartyNews.net

    A site that covers news about minor parties.
    [Checked:060414]

    Third Party Central

    Collects lots of good information and links relating to various third parties into one convenient location. Nice set of writings on why one should vote third-party.
    [Checked:991014]

    Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections

    A surprisingly complete listing of votes cast in Presidential elections, including numerous third-party candidates and nice maps of vote distribution by state and (on the individual state pages) by county.
    [New-URL:010309]

    D.C.'s Political Report

    Very good presentation of candidate and party information, including virtually every known third-party group in the USA. Election results, candidate information, etc.
    [Updated:991214]

    Initiative For Texas

    A group trying to establish the right to Initiative and Referendum in Texas. Their work has intriguing parallels and overlaps with ballot access work. Every page at the site seems to have some music on it, which can get annoying after awhile, but otherwise it's an interesting site.
    [Checked:991014]

    Center for Voting and Democracy

    Folks concerned with alternative voting systems, and related issues, from a moderately leftist perspective. Useful articles describing how better systems of voting and electing actually work.
    [Added:000823]

The newsletter is published by and copyright by Richard Winger.