Ballot Access News & Notes

Supreme Court Pick Has Good Election Law Record  

President Obama today announced his first pick for the United States Supreme Court. Federal Judge Sonia Sotomayor has been tapped to fill the seat vacated by Justice David Souter. Free & Equal Elections is pleased to note that Judge Sotomayor has a very good record with her previous rulings on ballot access law cases.   Judge Sotomayor was the first federal judge to rule favorably in a constitutional case involving write-in voting, after the 1992 U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled against write-ins. Sotomayor noted in her ruling  on Gelb v Board of Elections in the City of New York that the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Burdick v Takushi (which said that Hawaii was not required to provide write-in space) did not foreclose victory for Gelb. She wrote, “Burdick v Takushi reaffirmed the principle that states cannot structure elections in a manner that favors candidates of established parties.”

Also after the jump:

Louisiana Bill Would Strip Parties of the Ability to Nominate Candidates for Congress

Free & Equal Legislative Update: Illinois & Oklahoma 

Supreme Court Pick Has Favorable Election Law Record  (Continued)

Sotomayor also ruled in favor of ballot access, in Lopez Torres v New York State Board of Elections, a case that involved difficult procedures for getting on a primary ballot for Delegates to Judicial Nominating Conventions. And she ruled favorably for voting rights in general in her dissent in Hayden v Pataki.  The issue was whether the federal Voting Rights Act protects racial minorities in the area of the law concerning felon and ex-felon disenfranchisement.

Free & Equal Elections looks forward to Judge Sotomayor’s placement on the court, and hopes that she will continue to defend the right of voter choice in the future.

Click Here For more information about Sotomayor’s previous rulings.

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Louisiana Bill Would Strip Parties of the Ability to Nominate Candidates for Congress

 

 

Louisiana’s State Legislature will hold a second hearing tomorrow for a bill that would eliminate primary elections for Third Parties. The bill, HB 776, was written by the Secretary of State’s office, and says that qualified parties with fewer than 40,000 registrants may no longer nominate by primary. The hearing by the House Committee on the House and Government Affairs will take place Wednesday morning.

Free & Equal Elections is concerned that the bill does not provide a way for parties to nominate candidates without a primary. The Secretary of State’s concern is the possibility of a lack of space on primary voting machines, and the expenses related to multiple primary elections. These are valid concerns, but the simple remedy is allowing parties to nominate by convention. This has not been included in the bill.   If the bill is passed without that provision, parties would have no control over who appears on the general election ballot, and multiple candidates from the same party could appear on the ballot. If the Secretary of State’s true intention is to ensure that a ballot is not overcrowded, then a provision for nominating by convention should be inserted into the bill.  

Click Here for more information, including a link to watch the hearing.  

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Legislative Update

 

 

Illinois

In Illinois, HB 723, a bill that would make it nearly impossible for third parties to slate candidates in Illinois, has been referred back to the House Rules Committee.

The bill would make it so that when no candidate of an established party runs in a primary for a particular office, that party can only fill the vacancy in nomination if the candidate they “slate” collects a large number of signatures.

Free & Equal remains opposed to this legislation, and will continue to monitor the progress of this bill.  

Oklahoma

The state of Oklahoma has the most restrictive ballot access laws in the country. It is nearly impossible for a party (other than the Democrats and Republicans of course) to be able to achieve a ballot line in the state. To make the already appalling state of ballot access in Oklahoma seem even more egregious, it is illegal to cast a write-in vote.

Free & Equal Elections has been working with Oklahomans for Ballot Access Reform (OBAR) to pass an improved ballot access law in Oklahoma. House Bill 1072, authored by Rep. Charles Key, R-Oklahoma City, passed both houses of the legislature this year, albeit in different forms, by a combined vote of 132 – 5, including unanimous support in the Senate. The bill was tabled in Conference Committee last Monday after House and Senate leaders failed to agree on new requirements for forming a recognized political party in the state. The move will give the committee a chance to revisit the legislation again next year.

Click Here for a story from the Daily Oklahoman. 

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Help Reform Ballot Access Laws Today!   Free & Equal Elections is a non partisan organization dedicated to eliminating restrictive ballot access laws that target Independent and Third-Party Candidates.  

 

 

Free & Equal will challenge these laws, through lobbying of state legislators, court challenges, and initiatives.  

Free & Equal needs Your Donation today to continue the fight against restrictive ballot access laws across the nation.

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