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Dear Supporter,

American democracy is under threat like never before. California’s ‘Top Two’ system, which excludes all but the two most well-funded candidates from the general election ballot, threatens to spread across the nation. Powerful lobbyists are convincing state legislatures to make the petitioning process even more restrictive and the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in ‘Citizens United’ allows corporations much greater ability to buy our elections.

The Republican and Democratic parties act as one, pandering to their moneyed special interests while ignoring the voice of the people. On issue after issue, from our foreign wars, to a more sensible healthcare system, to ending deficit spending, to stopping corporate welfare, Americans all across the political spectrum agree on the need for change while legislators move in the opposite direction.

The Free and Equal Elections Foundation is the ONLY national organization which stands in the way of these threats to voter choice. The good news is that even with just a staff of six people and very limited funding, Free and Equal has been able to take on the most powerful political machines and put them back on their heels. We need your support to take this fight to the next level.

Free and Equal uses a comprehensive strategy to attack ballot access restrictions from every angle, simultaneously.

In California, Free and Equal built a coalition of all six qualified parties around our website, StopTopTwo.org to battle Proposition 14, the ‘Top Two’ Primaries Act. Placed on the ballot through a backroom budget deal made in Sacramento literally at 3:00 am, and backed by $5 million raised by Gov. Schwarzenegger and a number of major California corporations led by Hewlett-Packard, we were outspent over 250 to 1. However, the ideas presented by our website caught fire in the media. Although we lost the overall vote, those who showed up to vote on Election Day voted against Proposition 14, indicating that our message was getting out and winning despite our lack of funding. StopTopTwo.org is now dedicated to halting the spread of this anti-democratic reform across the country.

In Illinois, Free and Equal is going head to head with the political machines that have maintained control of the ballot through the infamous objection process, where the status quo can remove any challengers from the ballot based on absurd technicalities that have nothing to do with a candidate’s qualifications. Through our defense of candidates and their petitions and our three all-inclusive gubernatorial debates, Free and Equal is creating a new awareness in the Illinois media of the need for reform. Our third debate, deliberately timed after the filing of petitions by third party and independent candidates but before objections could be filed, resulted in hundreds of news articles including major pieces on WBEZ National Public Radio in Chicago, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Huffington Post. This media momentum is leading to a lobbying campaign to replace this out-of-control petitioning and objection process with a simple filing fee.

In Texas, the separate for-profit organization Free and Equal, Inc. made history by gathering over 92,000 signatures in twelve days to get the Green Party on the 2010 ballot. The Free and Equal Elections Foundation has been able to take up that story and carry it forward towards a national awareness that ballot access barriers in Texas cry out for major reform. News coverage quoting Free and Equal’s Christina Tobin includes three articles in the Wall Street Journal and two on the front page of the New York Times, not to mention widespread publicity in Texas. The Texas Democratic Party has tried and failed to use the courts to knock the Greens off the ballot. Now we have our opportunity to strike the counterpunch and present the Texas legislature with a comprehensive ballot access reform package in January, which they will be inclined to hear.

Now that you know what Free and Equal has already accomplished with just a six person staff, just think of how much more effective Free and Equal could be with your support. Free and Equal is ready to take on the most powerful political machines nationwide and in every state.

Here’s how we pull it all together: a major website redesign, centered around the virtual map.

The virtual map is the portal to a state-of-the-art social networking project consisting of:

In short, we will use this website technology to create a multimedia experience for everyone – candidates, reform advocates, political scientists and news media – making it simple for each person to act on the information we provide, carrying forward the message and reality of ballot access reform. The virtual map will make it easier for Free and Equal to develop caucuses filled with leaders in every state to push for electoral reform.

We’re fortunate to have some of the most amazing people imaginable on our staff, with many more talented and dedicated people wanting to join us. Free and Equal needs to grow to start winning these major battles in every state.

Please give your most generous contribution today! Free and Equal will spend it wisely and efficiently to roll back ballot access barriers, expand voter choice and return the control of our government back to the people, where it belongs!

Free & Equal is an all-partisan, non-profit, public policy advocacy group. We need your support to ensure the completion of this vital project. Your contribution is tax-deductible. Thank you for your continued support of Free & Equal!

Yours in Liberty –

Christina Tobin
Founder and CEO, The Free and Equal Elections Foundation
312.320.4101
http://www.freeandequal.org
christina@freeandequal.org

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