May
24
2013
Source: Ballot Access News
Pennsylvania State Senator Mike Folmer will hold a Voters’ Choice Act town hall meeting on Tuesday, May 28. The purpose of the meeting is to gain publicity and spread information about his SB 195, which would ease ballot access in Pennsylvania. The meeting is at 6 p.m. in room 312 of the Neidig Garber Science Center, on the campus of Lebanon Valley College, 101 N. Read more »
May
01
2013
Source: Ballot Access News
On May 1, Nebraska LB 349 passed the legislature unanimously. It is an omnibus election law bill. Among other provisions, it repeals the law that says if a voter votes in a presidential primary, he or she can’t sign for an independent presidential candidate. Assuming the Governor signs the bill, Texas will then be the only state in which primary voters are not permitted to sign a petition for either a newly-qualifying Read more »
Apr
30
2013
Source: Ballot Access News
North Carolina Representative Mark Brody (R-Matthews) has introduced HB 752, to let independent candidates be called “independent” on the ballot, instead of “unaffiliated.” The bill also says if an independent candidate gets on the ballot, if he or she then runs for the same office again in the following election, no petition would be needed if the candidate’s vote total the first time had been at least twice as Read more »
Apr
30
2013
Source: Ballot Access News
On April 30, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo released the text of a proposed election law bill he hopes the legislature will pass. The proposal is identified as “Legislative Bill Drafting Commission 12024-02-3″, or as “Governor’s Program Bill #4.” The bill, if enacted, would allow anyone to run in any party’s primary, regardless of whether the candidate is a member of that party or not, and regardless of what party officers think Read more »
Apr
29
2013
Source: Ballot Access News
Pennsylvania State Senator Mike Folmer is hosting a Town Hall Meeting to boost SB 195, the ballot access reform bill. It will be at 6 p.m. on May 28, Tuesday, in Room 312, Neidig Garber Science Center, on the campus of Lebanon Valley College. UPDATE: the original post mistakenly said 8 p.m., but the meeting is at 6 p.m.
For more information, contact Bob Small at bobthepoet@yahoo.com. Read more »
Apr
29
2013
Source: Ballot Access News
Brian Irving is coordinating appointments between ballot access activists and North Carolina State Representatives who are on the House Elections Committee. He has appointments with six such state legislators at various times on April 30, Tuesday. Other proponents of improved ballot access will be joining him. If you live anywhere near Raleigh and you wish to help, his e-mail is brian@libertypoint.org. Read more »
Apr
29
2013
Source: Ballot Access News
The April 26 Fort Wayne News-Sentinel has this editorial, which ran a few hours before the convictions in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary petition fraud prosecution. Toward the end of the editorial is a suggestion that Indiana’s ballot access laws be eased.
Apr
26
2013
Source: Ballot Access News
On April 11, the Vermont Senate passed S86, an omnibus election law bill. Among other things, it moves the independent candidate petition deadline from June to August. The bill is now pending in the House Government Operations Committee. Specifically, the bill says the independent petition deadline is three days after the primary.
Click here to read Ballot Access News comments on this article
Apr
25
2013
Source: Ballot Access News
Political scientist Richard J. Hardy wrote “The Paradoxes of Political Parties in American Constitutional Government” in 2011. Here is a link to his 27-page article. Even though it is not new, it is relevant today, especially since many individuals believe that political parties are not useful and that the U.S. would be better off if they didn’t exist. There are many books that make his points, but this article is much Read more »
Apr
25
2013
Source: Ballot Access News
On April 24, the Montana Senate passed HB 120, which now goes to the Governor. This is the Secretary of State’s omnibus election law bill, and it includes two ballot access improvements: (1) moving the non-presidential independent deadline from March to May; (2) eliminating a restriction on who can be an independent presidential or vice-presidential candidate. Montana becomes the second state, after Virginia, in Read more »
