Ballot Access News

Former Congressman Dennis Kucinich was recently on the Amy Goodman radio show. Goodman asked him, “Proportional representation is really the name of the game in Sweden, right? Anyone who gets – I think it’s 4% of the vote, can be represented in Parliament. Can you comment on this? It’s a growing movement in the United States.

Kucinich replied: Well, it should happen. So, it’s really a step towards democratization, so that points of view that are held in the general populace are not squelched because they don’t reach some numerical sigificance that we call a majority. You know, majority politics are all very interesting, but what’s happening in the United States, with increasingly blurring the differences between the two parties, there’s a hunger for alternatives, and there’s a hunger for those alternatives to find a means of inclusion into the process. So, certainly, that’s one way to do it. And we need to broaden our discussion in America. When you come here (to Sweden) and you see so many different political persuasions represented, and our politics back home are monochromatic – I mean, increasingly. It’s grey, and you can’t really tell the difference. Here, you can. But at the same time, there’s a common commitment to the nation. We need to awaken those sentiments in America. And one way to do it is proportional representation.”

Thanks to Steve Hill for this information.

The Columbus Dispatch has this article about Chad Monnin, the Libertarian nominee for Ohio State House, district 19, near Columbus. The article says Monnin has two campaign offices, has already spent $100,000, and plans to have spent as much as $250,000. The article also describes efforts by the Republican Party to challenge his primary petition (that didn’t work), and then efforts by Republicans to persuade him to withdraw.

No party, other than the Democratic and Republican Parties, has elected anyone to the Ohio legislature since 1914, when the Progressives elected one. Thanks to Kevin Knedler for the link.

Professor Lawrence Lessig is actively working to create a SuperPAC that would spend its money to help congressional candidates who will work to pass a public funding bill in 2015. The SuperPac has been soliciting pledges. The pledges will not be payable unless the effort reaches a goal of $5,000,000 in pledges by the end of July 4, Hawaii time. As of 1:30 p.m. Hawaii time, $4,778,325 has been pledged.

If the SuperPac, called MayDay, reaches its goal, the funds will be more than matched by various wealthy individuals, and the PAC will have $12,000,000, or close to it. That money could then be used for independent expenditures in favor of congressional candidates who will work for public funding. The plan is to spend the money in 5 U.S. House districts, and those districts will be chosen and announced by July 15.

See mayday.us for more information. One possible disincentive for some potential donors is that the donation part of the web page asks donors if they wish the money spent on Democratic candidates, or Republican candidates. There is no option for the donor to ask that the money be spent on a candidate not nominated by either major party.

Meanwhile, the bill in the U.S. House for public funding, H.R. 20, now has 156 co-sponsors. It gained six co-sponsors in May, but only two in June. Thanks to Jacqui Deveneau for the link.

UPDATE: Lessig’s goal was met. The web page shows pledges of $5,160,429.