Free and Equal Issues Statement in Response to Recent Texas Media Reports

Free and Equal Elections is proud to stand next to the Green Party of Texas today to release this joint statement concerning Texas media reports involving Boyd Ritchie’s anti-democratic attack on the Green Party’s recent petition drive in Texas.

The statement from Free and Equal Founder and Chair Christina Tobin follows:

“Boyd Ritchie’s anti-democratic and anti-choice actions are shameful for a party leader. Free and Equal is a non-partisan organization that helps all parties, and Ritchie appears to have gone hysterical because a Green got on the Texas ballot this week. Ballot access and campaign finance are two completely different things. Ritchie is acting like a hot-headed party boss, not a party leader who deserves respect.”

“In Ritchie’s attempt to inflict harm on the Green Party, he will also harm voters by reducing their choices on Election Day. It’s a shame he would go to such lengths to keep a candidate from running, just because they aren’t a member of his party.”

“Ritchie wants to keep competition off the ballots and to thwart the Green Party’s participation in the electoral process. He is also trying to slam the door on voters’ choices when voters demand them via their participation in petitioning. These anti-democratic tactics by Ritchie are meant to cost the Green Party money, time, resources and donations in an effort to gain some media attention for himself.”

“Hampering political participation for the Green Party is wrong, and Free and Equal will do everything in its power to help the Green Party of Texas.”

kat swift, Statewide Coordinator of the Green Party of Texas commented:

“93,000 Texas voters legitimately expressed their wish to have the Green Party on the ballot, and we intend to make every legitimate effort to avoid disappointing them.”

“Ritchie has been making incendiary statements in the media and robocalls around the state based on unsubstantiated conjecture. We do not now nor have we ever had any intention of acting in violation of the Texas Ethics Commission rules, which we lobbied for and helped establish.”

“Their further allegation that we are controlled by the Republican Party is as ridiculous as asserting that Democratic candidates who regularly accept campaign contributions from Republicans are in fact controlled by the Republican Party.”

“Clearly, the Texas Democratic Party does not really want fair elections. Their leadership is content with rigged election systems and double standards regarding campaign contributions. The Republican Party is no different in these regards.”

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