Alabama Representative Cam Ward (R-Alabaster) has agreed to introduce a bill to lower the number of signatures needed for minor parties and non-presidential independent candidates. He has been in the legislature since 2003. Thanks to Steven Gordon for this news.
Ballot Access News
Edited By Richard Winger
Richard,
Any idea what the proposed signature count will be?
I don’t know. And the legislature doesn’t convene until February 3.
Did any alternative party maintain ballot access as a result of the 2008 election?
I’m disappointed if this proposed bill does not address the option of filing fees to the petitions with signatues. It could do both. Someone who has Representative Ward’s ear needs to see if the bill could be amended to include filing fees as well as lower petition signatures.
Personally, I don’t think you are going to get lower signature percentages through the Legislature – unless the suit brought by Andy Shugart that is being heard in Federal Court in Montgomery results in the Court ruling that the percentages must be lowered. I don’t think that is going to happen.
Our best hope is accept the current signature percentages but ask for the filing fee option. I would hope that Steve Gordon (I’m assuming he lives in Alabama) might get in contact with me, or better yet with Representative Ward, and lets see what we can do in this regard.
No minor party has appeared on the statewide ballot in Alabama since 2002. The Libertarians did the party petition in 2000 and miraculously got over 20% for one statewide race in 2000, so they were on automatically in 2002. But in 2002 no Libertarian got 20% in a statewide race, so the party went off the ballot and no party has since appeared on the statewide ballot. Various minor party presidential candidates have appeared since then only as independents, since the indp. pres. petition is 5,000 signatures.
Hmmn, the guy’s a Republican. And he’s for free elections. Why am I not surprised?
Interesting Winger didn’t highlight that fact. But hey, we all know Richie’s a hard Left partisan posing as a “Libertarian.”
Eric, from the very beginning of the post when I saw it with no comments there was the (R- Alabaster) next to his name. But we have seen sponsors of legislation on both left and right for free elections.
And even if the guy wasn’t Republican, this is ballot access news. The emphasis is on elections and ballot access, not who we can give a good pat on the shoulder to.
Eric Dondero must have missed this story about how some Republican legislators in Alaska are trying to make it more difficult to put initiatives on the ballot in that state. Here’s the story from a previous update on Ballot Access News.
“Alaska Anti-Initiative Bill
January 19th, 2009
Alaska State Representatives Kyle Johansen (R-Ketchikan) and Charisse Millett (R-Anchorage) have introduced HB 36. It would make it illegal for initiative circulators to be paid on a per-signature basis. Also it would make it illegal for initiative circulators to circulate more than one initiative at once.”
These Republicans in Alaska are clearly NOT in favor of fairness in the election process.
Also, in Missouri, all 8 legislators in the State House who are pushing the anti-initiative bills are Republicans. Although in the Senate, the lone sponsor is a Democrat.
Cam Ward proposed legislation, if passed would reduce the signature requirements from 3% (37,500) +/- of the previous Governors election to 1.5% (18,750