This December 17 Daily Oklahoman editorial again recommends that the Oklahoma legislature improve ballot access for newly-qualifying parties and independent presidential candidates. The editorial also recommends that the two major parties open their primaries to independent voters. The editorial disagrees with certain other election law reforms, such as ending run-off primaries.
Oklahoma has not permitted anyone to vote for President who was not a major party nominee, for each of the last three presidential elections. One must go all the way back to the period 1952-1964 to find any other state with a similar record. That other state was Ohio, which didn’t have anyone but Democrats and Republicans on the ballot for President for four elections in a row and which also banned write-ins. The U.S. Supreme Court invalidated Ohio’s ballot access laws in 1968 in Williams v Rhodes.
I thought that for Independents in Oklahoma (except for candidates for President) ballot access was just simply applying, paying a small – if any – filing fee and “presto” your name is on the ballot. And while I realize this article was mostly written for 3rd partisans, as a Independent I would not feel discriminated against.
If there is any discrimination – whether against a Independent or a 3rd partisan – it is the lack of funds to carry out a campaign, and the refusal of the media – national, state, and local – to give equal publicity for these candidates.
I don’t know if Oklahoma law prohibits a party being called “Independent” to be formed, and if it does allow such, then treats that Independent Party as it would the Libertarian Party as far as ballot access.
But as a Independent, especially if I lived in Oklahoma, I’d hope the advocates of a OKLAHOMA INDEPENDENT PARTY would act pragmatic. They could do this by forming the Oklahoma Independent Party on paper, and allow all other Independents who wanted to be part of it, to participate in the organizing Convention, with the understanding that there might be some renegade Independents who won’t work together.
The Independent Conventions – state and local – could encourage Independents to run for any office they desire. There would be no litmus tests for where one stood any number of issue. In cases where there were 2 or more Independents filing for the same office, a committee would be formed to meet with all of these Independent candidates and hopefully get them to agree that more than 2 Independent candidates on the General Election ballot for the same office is only going to divide the anti-major party vote. Hopefully, they eventually would all be in agreement, and all except the one Independent most qualified and having access to funds to run a strong campaign, would be the Independent left running, with the others withdrawing. If there should be no agreement, then just let the renegade Independent(s) run, but have him or her understand, they would not be considered the official candidate of the Oklahoma Independent Party, they would not be given any publicity as such, or financial support as such.
Hopefully, when qualifying was complete, there would be a slate of Independents running for many if not most offices- national, state, and local, with few renegades running outside the blessings of the Independent Party Convention. Hopefully, over time, these renegades would get the message.
If the situation ever came up where the Oklahoma Independent Party wanted to support a Independent candidate for President, the members of the party would have to decide if they could raise the funds to petition to get such Independent presidential candidate on the General Election Ballot. Hopefully, the candidate would already have a national following, and could assist in the petitioning drive.
What I have presented is more of a fantasy, than anything else. Whether one could get the majority of Independents in Oklahoma to organize into one OKLAHOMA INDEPENDENT PARTY and understand the way they would have be organized and to nominate a ticket, is anyone’s guess. But it could be done. It just takes a few young politically-oriented and savvy people – Independents – with time left in their life, to promote this idea, and have the patience and common sense to work and watch it grow over time.
But getting back to reality. The Daily Oklahoman editorial brings up the real problem, and that is the laws designed to keep non-major party candidates off the ballot. This is the real battle that all should join in and fight.
I will continue to hold to my stand, that all 3rd party and Independent candidates should have the option to file for the ballot by filing fee, laws should be passed requiring some type of public financing of all candidates – major, minor, and Independent, and laws passed requiring publicity of all candidates – major, minor, and Independent, or else the entity doing the publicity would be penalized for not doing so.
This is the only way we are going to destroy the Two Party System in the United States.