I’m not suggesting the Court will “create new procedures” for Presidential candidates. I’m saying they could rule that Alabama MUST require equal precentages of signatures for all candidates so that candidates for a local office are not required to obtain more signatures than does a candidate for a statewide office – such as the 5000 currently required for presidential candidates . They could leave it up to the Alabama Legislature to decide if they wanted to lower the percentage to where it would coincide with about 5000 for a statewide office, or make it – including the candidates for President – be 3% as it currently is for all other offices.

Knowing these Democratic and Republican legislators, they are not likely to lower the percentages. Instead they would see this as a green light to raise the Presidential petitions to 3%. I think, as you have reported many times, that the Courts have already ruled that percentages as high as 5% for statewide office are not unconstitutional.

So this is my fear.

Still, I stay if there are any serious 3rd party and independent leaders in Alabama who want to try the filing fee approach, then get in contact with me. But I’m not going to destroy what little respect I might still have left by asking a legislator to introduce such legislation, if the 3rd party and independent leaders are not going to work to support it.

If anyone wishes to e-mail “Alabama Independent” to work with him on improving ballot access in Alabama, his e-mail is donwebb1@bellsouth.net.

BROWN V. BD OF ED 1954 — AS APPLIED TO ***ALL*** GOVT ACTIONS — even magical ballot access laws.

Way too difficult for the armies of constitutional law MORONS to understand.

Does there have to be a Civil W-A-R II to get REAL Democracy into the rotted party hack U.S.A. and State regimes ???

My worst fears for this suit, is that the Court will rule that candidates for President on the Alabama ballot must collect the same percentage of signatures as is currently required for candidates for any other state or federal office office.

If this happens, this would mean that future presidential candidates in Alabama would have to gather some 37,000 (or more) signatures, rather than the currently obtainable 5,000 signatures!

In my post of this past weekend, I challenged all 3rd party leaders to demonstrate via this blog an interest in working for the re-introduction of a bill that would allow for 3rd party and independent candidates to pay a filing fee as an option to gathering signatures.

Of the handful of posts on this issue, none were indicative of any 3rd party or independent leaders in Alabama stating they wanted to do so. I am disappointed and confounded at the lack of serious desire to try a strategy that just might be supported by the Alabama legislature.

From the impression I’ve gotten from past conversations and contact with legislators, they are NOT going to lower the percentage of signatures on petitions. Neither have the Courts shown any inclination to do so either.

We have to try something else. The filing fee approach just might get a more receptive response from the legislators.

So once again, 3rd party and independent leaders in Alabama, if you want to stop standing in the cold, the rain and/or in the hot sun – with no guarantee that you’re going to get the sufficient number of signatures – why not let’s make at least one effort with the 2009 Legislature (if its not too late to get a bill introduced) to see what can be done. This will at least give us some indication whether this might be the answer, or if we need to go back to begging them to lower the percentage of signatures on petitions.

We won’t know unless we try!