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Ohio Ballot Access Bill Advances

Good news from Ohio!
A bill that would considerably improve ballot access for Independent and Third Party candidates survived a crucial vote earlier this week.
On a 7-6 party line vote, HB 260 passed the House Elections Committee Tuesday.
HB 260 is a far-reaching election reform bill that includes provisions making it easier for a new political party [...]

Recent Free & Equal Event Videos

CATO Ballot Access Forum
On October 13th, Free & Equal Founder and Chair Christina Tobin attended a forum at the CATO Institute in Washington, DC featuring two recently published books on ballot access:
Not Invited to the Party: How the Demopublicans Have Rigged the System and Left Independents Out in the Cold By James Bennett
Grand Illusion: [...]

Petition Checkers in Chicago Seek to Limit Voter Choice

The corrupt machine of Illinois politics is in full swing this week at the Chicago Board of Elections.
An army of petition checkers has descended upon boards of elections across the state, seeking to limit voter choice in the 2010 elections by invalidating signatures collected by candidates.
Operating under a veil of secrecy, the petition checkers at [...]

Moving Forward After Election Day

Tuesday’s election did not turn out nearly as well as we had hoped.
It was a tough day for Independent and Third Party candidates in nationally watched races in New York and New Jersey.
It was also a very tough day for Instant Runoff Voting.
The voters of Pierce County, Washington voted overwhelmingly to repeal Ranked Choice Voting [...]

Free & Equal Chair Writes in Favor of Ranked Choice Voting in Pierce County, Washington

Rank Choice Voting (RCV) is a voting system in which voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate is the first preference of a majority of voters, the candidate with the fewest number of first preference rankings is eliminated and that candidate’s ballots are redistributed at full value to the remaining candidates according [...]

North Carolina Ballot Access Lawsuit Heads to State Supreme Court

On October 20, the North Carolina State Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that the petition requirement for candidates to get on the ballot, 2% of the last gubernatorial vote, does not violate the State Constitution.
This ruling on a lawsuit brought by the Libertarian Party of North Carolina and the North Carolina Green Party means that [...]

Free & Equal Endorses Put-Back Amendment

The Free & Equal Elections Foundation is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to the elimination of restrictive ballot access laws that make it difficult for Independent and Third Party candidates to get on the ballot.
Free & Equal often coordinates with like-minded groups in challenging the current state of our electoral process, and looks for solutions [...]

CATO Forum on Ballot Access

This past Tuesday, Free & Equal Founder and Chair Christina Tobin attended a forum at the CATO Institute in Washington, DC featuring two recently published books on ballot access:
Not Invited to the Party: How the Demopublicans Have Rigged the System and Left Independents Out in the Cold By James Bennett
Grand Illusion: The Myth of [...]

Illinois Gubernatorial Debate Video from Midwest Liberty Fest

*Video: please view the full article to see this video.

Video Courtesy of RepublicMedia.TV
Thanks to The Liberty Restoration Project and R3publican for helping with the debate.
Check out the Story from The Southern

The Illinois Gubernatorial Debate was held as part of the Midwest Liberty Fest on October 9th, 2009. Free & Equal Founder and [...]

Illinois Legislature to Vote on Overriding Veto of IL HB 723

For months now, we’ve been telling you about IL HB 723, a bill in the Illinois state legislature that would make it impossible for qualified parties to nominate someone by party meeting after the primary, unless a petition is submitted for each nominated nominee.
This  legislation, nicknamed “The Protect Incumbents Act” specifically targets the Green Party [...]