Marijuana Policy Project (MPP); National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML); Eric Garris, founder and director of AntiWar.com; Honorable Judge Jim Gray; Gary Johnson, former governor of New Mexico and honorary chairman of OurAmericaInitiative.com; Wayne Allen Root, 2008 Libertarian vice presidential nominee; U.S. Senate candidates for Connecticut: John Mertens of the Connecticut for Lieberman Party, and Warren Mosler, independent; Illinois gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney of the Green Party; U.S. Senate candidates for Illinois: LeAlan Jones of the Green Party and Mike Labno of the Libertarian Party, said they agree with the coalition that, the passage of Proposition 19 is a vital step towards ending the War on Drugs, bringing peace and safety back to our neighborhoods, and producing an extra revenue source for struggling businesses in California.

The new signatories join the Green Party of California, Peace and Freedom Party of California, Republican Liberty Caucus of California (RLCCA), Progressive Libertarian Caucus, National Black Police Association, Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), The Free and Equal Elections Foundation and Hempire Media, all of whom joined the coalition last week.

Further, a number of signatories agreed:

“The Republican and Democratic Parties have sided against the people by failing to endorse Proposition 19. This historic proposition, if passed, would allow possession of up to an ounce of cannabis for adults 21 and over in California, for personal consumption, and in turn, would allow for the taxing and controlling of cannabis, similar to alcohol and tobacco, thus allowing all Californians and small businesses across this state the right to realize the potential of Cannabis, California’s number one cash crop.

“We ask that voters join us, as well as police officers, cancer patients, teachers, doctors, judges, nurses, journalists, students and everyone else across California to tell our government that we demand an end to prohibition of cannabis because it simply doesn’t work. Our prisons are bursting at the seams with cannabis arrests, which now comprise more than 50% of all drug arrests nationwide.

“We strongly urge California voters to legalize this herb in California by voting YES on Prop 19 this November. Together we can make our streets freer, smarter and safer.”

Mark Hinkle, Libertarian National Committee chair; Mike Feinstein, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States; C.T. Weber, state chairperson of Peace and Freedom Party of California and candidate for lieutenant governor of California; Laura Wells, Green Party candidate for governor of California; Carlos Alvarez, Peace and Freedom Party candidate for governor of California; Ann Menasche, Green Party candidate for California Secretary of State; Christina Tobin, Libertarian candidate for California Secretary of State and founder and chair of The Free and Equal Elections Foundation; Lex Green, Libertarian candidate for governor of Illinois; Todd McCormick, founder of Hempire Media; and Mark Seidenberg, vice chairman of the American Independent Party State Central Committee.

“The policy of Marijuana Prohibition has not only failed, it’s hopeless,” Judge Gray said. “As just an example, marijuana today is California’s largest cash crop – all untaxed, by the way – and it is more available for children than a six-pack of beer.  Proposition 19 certainly will work better than that.  In fact, things can only get better than they are today.”

“California has the potential to start the domino effect in this country that will lead to bringing about rational drug policy nationwide.  Proposition 19 can be the beginning. With just a little bit of education and awareness I see people moving on this issue everyday,” Johnson said. “Let’s make it happen. Tax it, regulate it and control it. Let’s stop this needless war that is making criminals out of otherwise tax paying, law-abiding citizens.”

“The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) supports Free & Equal Elections’ efforts … to address the American hemisphere’s elephant in the room: the failure of cannabis and drug prohibition and the destabilizing effects on the hemisphere’s economies and democracies,” said Allen St. Pierre, executive director, NORML. “Clearly elected policy makers do not possess the will or want, to address the many problems created by government abdication of regulating and taxing adult commerce like cannabis, and they often look to the general public and the stakeholder community to create alternatives to failed and tax-draining public policies that do not achieve even the government’s minimum stated goals.”

“It is great to be part of this diverse coalition in support of ending marijuana prohibition in this country. The people are ahead of our nation’s ruling class on this issue, and that is reflected in the support from these groups, which are dedicated to ideas, not beholden to special interests. We look forward to working with this coalition in the future as we bypass elected officials and enact laws to tax and regulate marijuana though the ballot initiative process,” said Steve Fox, Director of Government Relations, Marijuana Policy Project.

All ballot qualified candidates have been invited to participate in the event, which is the last leg of a nationwide all-inclusive debate tour supporting the right of voters to hear from all candidates on an equal playing field, and is sponsored by the campus chapter of Students for Liberty and The Free and Equal Elections Foundation.

Peace and Freedom Party candidate Carlos Alvarez, American Independent Party candidate Chelene Nightingale, Libertarian Party candidate Dale Ogden and Green Party candidate Laura Wells, all vying to become the next governor of California, have agreed to participate in the debate. Democratic candidate Jerry Brown and Republican candidate Meg Whitman also have been invited to participate but have not yet responded.

Recently, Wells led a protest demanding all-inclusive candidate debates, prior to the gubernatorial candidate debate at Dominican University of California, which included only Brown and Whitman. After protesters made their way to the so-called “free speech zone” near Angelico Hall, where the debate was hosted, a spokeswoman said, Wells was given a ticket to attend the debate as a spectator but was arrested after passing the first security check point. Video footage of Wells’ arrest can be viewed on the KCRA website.

The Free and Equal debate will provide an equal platform for all ballot qualified candidates to discuss issues facing Californians this election season including Proposition 19 to legalize, tax and regulate cannabis in California, Proposition 8 for equal rights, war and proportional representation in addition to the those questions that plague the minds of Californians and Americans across the board.

The debate will follow a cumulative format, moderated by Christina Tobin, founder and chair of Free and Equal, and Libertarian candidate for Secretary of State of California. National Public Radio (NPR), The New York Times, The Washington Post, Huffington Post, Chicago Sun-Times, The Sacramento Bee, the Associated Press and other prominent media outlets typically cover Free and Equal events, and Free and Equal expects this debate to garner similar media coverage. This debate, like all Free and Equal sponsored debates, will be streamed live and archived on the Free and Equal website.

“These debates will demonstrate that it is not an undue burden, or even difficult, to include all ballot-qualified candidates,” Tobin said. “The other organizations planning on holding debates should fulfill their civic responsibility and also invite all ballot qualified candidates to participate.”

In order to help voters and potential voters make their voices heard on this issue, Free and Equal has launched an online petition calling for open, all-inclusive debates.

The debates are free and open to the public. Free and Equal asks that all media professionals planning to cover this event submit their requests for media credentials to Kaylee Campbell Burton, public relations director for Free and Equal, via email to kaylee@freeandequal.org, or by phone or text to 405.295.5420.

Watch Free & Equal’s fourth Illinois Gubernatorial debate here:

All ballot qualified candidates have been invited to participate in the event, which is part of a nationwide all-inclusive debate tour supporting the right of voters to hear from all candidates on an equal playing field, and is sponsored by Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, National Taxpayers United of Illinois, Restore the Republic (RTR.org) and The Free and Equal Elections Foundation.

In the race for a U.S. Senate seat, Green Party candidate LeAlan Jones, Libertarian Party candidate Mike Labno and Independent candidate William Boyd, who is running as a write-in candidate after being removed from the November 2^nd ballot despite collecting more than 25,000 signatures, have agreed to participate in the Free and Equal U.S. Senate debate from 6 – 7:30 p.m. CDT.

Republican Party candidate Mark Kirk, has yet to respond, and Democratic candidate Alexi Giannoulias will be unable to attend the debate for reasons unbeknown to his campaign scheduler, other than the candidate will not be in the DeKalb area October 21, his scheduler said.

The Daily Caller, in a September 22 report, has Labno quoted as saying, “Alexi should be extending an invitation to me to be on the stage with him, to debate,” he said. “The way I see it, if he thinks it’s going to help him, then it can only help him much more if, if I’m sitting on the stage next to him and battling against Mark Kirk.” Free and Equal supports this invitation and continues to extend it to Giannoulias and Kirk.

Independent candidate Scott Lee Cohen, Libertarian Party candidate Lex Green, Constitution Party candidate Michael White and Green Party candidate Rich Whitney, all vying to become the next governor of Illinois, have agreed to debate from 8 – 9:30 p.m. CDT.

Democratic candidate Pat Quinn and Republican candidate Bill Brady have yet to respond.

The debates will follow a cumulative format, moderated by Christina Tobin, founder and chair of Free and Equal and candidate for Secretary of State in California. National Public Radio (NPR), The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Huffington Post, and other prominent media outlets typically cover Free and Equal events, and Free and Equal expects this debate to garner similar media coverage. WTVO Channel 17 in Rockford, Ill., and Daily Herald officials have said they will cover the event. This debate, like all Free and Equal sponsored debates, will be streamed live and archived on the Free and Equal website.

“These debates will demonstrate that it is not an undue burden, or even difficult, to include all ballot-qualified candidates,” Tobin said. “The other organizations planning on holding debates should fulfill their civic responsibility and also invite all ballot qualified candidates to participate.”

The debates are free and open to the public. Free and Equal asks that all media professionals planning to cover this event submit their requests for media credentials to Kaylee Campbell Burton, public relations director for Free and Equal, via email to kaylee@freeandequal.org, or by phone or text to 405.295.5420.

The two remaining candidates on the November 2^nd ballot, Democrat Richard Blumenthal and Republican Linda McMahon, have been invited but not yet responded.

The three candidates vying to be the next governor of Connecticut have been invited to participate in a separate debate on the Storrs Campus, the same evening, hosted and presented by the University of Connecticut administration. The Independent Party candidate, Tom Marsh, has agreed to participate, however if neither of the other candidates participate, causing the debate to be canceled, Marsh agreed to participate in a 30 minute question and answer segment with the audience following the Free and Equal U.S. Senate debate.

The U.S. Senate debate will be moderated by Christina Tobin, founder and chair of Free and Equal and candidate for Secretary of State in California. National Public Radio (NPR), The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Huffington Post, and other prominent media outlets typically cover Free and Equal events, and Free and Equal expects this debate to garner similar media coverage. This debate, like all Free and Equal sponsored debates, will be streamed live and archived on the Free and Equal website.

The event is free and open to the public. Free and Equal asks that all media professionals planning to cover this event submit their requests for media credentials to Kaylee Campbell Burton, public relations director for Free and Equal, via email to kaylee@freeandequal.org, or by phone or text to 405.295.5420.

The Green Party of California, Peace and Freedom Party of California, Republican Liberty Caucus of California (RLCCA), Progressive Libertarian Caucus, National Black Police Association, Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), The Free and Equal Elections Foundation and Hempire Media, today, announced they all agree, the passage of Proposition 19 is a vital step towards ending the War on Drugs, bringing peace and safety back to our neighborhoods, and producing an extra revenue source for struggling businesses in California.

Further, a number of signatories agreed:

“The Republican and Democratic Parties have sided against the people by failing to endorse Proposition 19. This historic proposition, if passed, would allow possession of up to an ounce of cannabis for adults 21 and over in California, for personal consumption, and in turn, would allow for the taxing and controlling of cannabis, similar to alcohol and tobacco, thus allowing all Californians and small businesses across this state the right to realize the potential of Cannabis, California’s number one cash crop.

“We ask that voters join us, as well as police officers, cancer patients, teachers, doctors, judges, nurses, journalists, students and everyone else across California to tell our government that we demand an end to prohibition of cannabis because it simply doesn’t work. Our prisons are bursting at the seams with cannabis arrests, which now comprise more than 50% of all drug arrests nationwide.

“We strongly urge California voters to legalize this herb in California by voting YES on Prop 19 this November. Together we can make our streets freer, smarter and safer.”

Mark Hinkle, Libertarian National Committee chair; Mike Feinstein, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States; C.T. Weber, state chairperson of Peace and Freedom Party of California and candidate for lieutenant governor of California; Laura Wells, Green Party candidate for governor of California; Carlos Alvarez, Peace and Freedom Party candidate for governor of California; Ann Menasche, Green Party candidate for California Secretary of State; Christina Tobin, Libertarian candidate for California Secretary of State and founder and chair of The Free and Equal Elections Foundation; Lex Green, Libertarian candidate for governor of Illinois; and Todd McCormick, founder of Hempire Media, all have joined the coalition and signed on to the group quote, with more standing up in support of the proposition daily.

“While some Proposition 19 advocates are calling for taxes on marijuana (cannabis) as a means of managing the pain of California’s chronic budget crisis, Prop. 19 itself creates no such taxes or regulations. The RLCCA recommends voting “YES” on Prop. 19, while at the same time strongly opposing any taxes and regulations that local governments may try to impose,” said RLCCA Chairman Matt Heath. “It is important that voters and politicians alike remember that even after Prop. 19 passes, Article 13C of the California constitution grants voters the opportunity to block each and every new tax proposed by local governments.”

“Proposition 19 is a hot-button issue,” Tobin said. “Candidates, businesses and voters seem to be split down the middle in their opinions of the Act, but a number of polls in the last few months suggest a growing momentum of support for Prop 19.”

“Marijuana prohibition is one of our nation’s – and world’s – greatest propaganda campaigns,” Tobin added. “The U.S. government has been pulling the wool over the eyes of the American and global public for more than 70 years when it comes to marijuana. Proposition 19 is a chance for California voters to fight back.”

Gubernatorial candidates Wells and Alvarez along with challenger Dale Ogden, the Libertarian candidate, all publicly favor Proposition 19. Chelene Nightingale, California gubernatorial candidate of the American Independent Party, is currently neutral. Despite numerous attempts by Free and Equal representatives, the major party contenders Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman have been unavailable, or unwilling, to comment regarding Proposition 19 and all-inclusive debates.

All four minor party candidates have confirmed their participation in the all-inclusive California gubernatorial candidate debate, to be hosted at California State University, Sacramento, the third and final debate in a Free and Equal national debate tour. The two major party candidates have been invited but issued no response. The event will take place Thursday, October 28, 2010, time and venue to be announced.

This debate is sponsored by Students for Liberty and Free and Equal, and will provide an equal platform for all ballot qualified candidates to discuss alternative issues and ideas including Proposition 19 and proportional representation in addition to those questions that plague the minds of Californians and Americans across the board.

The Free and Equal Debate Tour kicks off Wednesday, October 20, 2010 with the Connecticut U.S. Senate Debate. The event will run from 8:30 – 9:30 p.m. EDT and will be held in the Student Union Ballroom (Room 330) at the University of Connecticut, Storrs Campus. This debate is sponsored by the student organization Idealists United and Free and Equal.

The second debate, a back-to-back event for Illinois gubernatorial and U.S. Senate candidates, is scheduled for Thursday, October 21, 2010, at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. The debate will take place in the Carl Sandburg Auditorium in Holmes Student Center. U.S. Senate candidates will be heard first from 6 – 7:30 p.m. CDT, followed by the gubernatorial debate from 8 – 9:30 p.m. This debate is sponsored by the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and Free and Equal.

California State University, Sacramento will host the final debate of the series for California’s gubernatorial candidates. The event will take place Thursday, October 28, 2010, time and venue to be announced. This debate is sponsored by Students for Liberty and Free and Equal.

A scheduled back-to-back debate for Oklahoma’s gubernatorial and U.S. Senate candidates was canceled recently, due in large part to lack of response from candidates. Even as the noose begins to tighten on what little access third-party candidates have to the electoral process, apathy toward this issue remains a problem.  Oklahoma candidates were unresponsive to the call for an open, all-inclusive debate, causing the event to be placed on hold indefinitely.

“As corporations funnel record amounts of money into our country’s two dominant political parties, it couldn’t be a more vital time to protect our right to open and inclusive political discourse.  All voices deserve to be heard, not just those speaking on behalf of multi-national corporate interests,” said Christina Tobin, founder and chair of Free and Equal, and Libertarian candidate for California secretary of state.

This appears to be a prescient time to address these issues.  California Green Party gubernatorial candidate, Laura Wells, was arrested Tuesday, October 12, 2010 when she attempted to attend the gubernatorial debate held at Dominican University of California in San Rafael. Wells and the three other minor party candidates for California governor were not invited to participate in the debate, which featured only the Democratic candidate, Jerry Brown, and the Republican candidate, Meg Whitman, despite all six candidates being ballot qualified for the general election. According to media reports, both Wells and her spokeswoman, Marnie Glickman, had tickets and were merely trying to attend the event as spectators. After initially being accepted into the debate, both women were asked to step away from the building and Wells was arrested and removed from the premises in a police squad car.

Protesters will gather at 4:00 p.m. at the corner of Acacia Avenue and Grand Avenue in San Rafael, before making their way to the so-called “free speech zone” near Angelico Hall, where the debate will be hosted.

Wells, Nightingale and Ogden united on the state capital steps for the first time, Wednesday, October 6, to speak out against the exclusion of minor party candidates from debates and promote awareness of the importance of all-inclusive debates. Alvarez regretfully had transportation issues and was unable to attend the press conference. The rally was covered by the Sacramento Bee.

True to form, The Free and Equal Elections Foundation will sponsor an all-partisan gubernatorial candidate debate, October 28, at California State University, Sacramento. All four minor party candidates have confirmed to participate in the debate, however neither Brown or Whitman have responded to their invitations. Christina Tobin, Libertarian candidate for California secretary of state and Free and Equal’s founder and chair, will moderate the event.

Tobin also is scheduled to moderate a U.S. Senate debate at University of Connecticut, October 20th, and a back-to-back U.S. Senate and gubernatorial debate at Northern Illinois University, October 21st. Free and Equal will stream all three debates live at www.freeandequal.org, and will archive the videos for future access.

Free and Equal recently launched an online petition that calls for all-inclusive debates nationwide and allows candidates, voters and potential voters to easily voice their opinion on the issue.

California gubernatorial candidates Carlos Alvarez of California’s Peace and Freedom Party, Chelene Nightingale of the Constitution Party, Dale Ogden of the Libertarian Party and Laura Wells of the Green Party will speak about their views on Proposition 19 at a press conference on the West steps of the State Capitol in Sacramento, Wednesday, October 6, 2010 at 1:00 p.m., to be hosted by The Free and Equal Elections Foundation. The candidates will also speak about their support of all-inclusive candidate debates, proportional representation and war. California gubernatorial candidates, Democrat Jerry Brown and Republican Meg Whitman, have declined the invitation to participate in this press conference.

Gerald Murray, national youth coordinator for Laura Chinchilla’s 2010 Costa Rica presidential campaign and international relations liaison for Free and Equal, will join the candidates at the press conference to speak in Spanish about conflict currently underway in Costa Rica and how Proposition 19 will impact the country.

Dale Sky Jones, of the Yes on Prop 19 campaign and Executive Chancellor of Oaksterdam University, also has been invited to speak at this press conference.

Alvarez, Ogden and Wells all publicly favor Proposition 19, while Nightingale is currently neutral, but researching the issue. Despite numerous attempts by Free and Equal representatives, Brown and Whitman have been unavailable, or unwilling, to comment regarding Proposition 19 and all-inclusive debates. However, a statement from the Whitman campaign shows that both Whitman and Brown oppose Proposition 19.

Further details regarding these important issues, from the candidates and Free and Equal, will be provided at Wednesday’s press conference. The press conference will be followed by a fundraiser, to benefit Free and Equal’s production of all-inclusive candidate debates nationwide, in Mill Valley, Calif., Saturday, October 9. All six California gubernatorial candidates have been invited to speak at this fundraiser, with Alvarez, Ogden and Wells confirmed and Nightingale tentative due to a scheduling conflict. More information can be found on the Free and Equal website.

During October, Christina Tobin, Libertarian candidate for California Secretary of State, in her official duties as founder and chair of Free and Equal, will moderate back-to-back, all-inclusive gubernatorial and U.S. senatorial candidate debates at Universities in California, Illinois and Oklahoma. Tobin also will moderate a university hosted, all-inclusive U.S. senatorial candidate debate in Connecticut and other debates of this nature are in the works for New York and Kentucky.

Free and Equal recently launched an online petition that calls for all-inclusive debates nationwide and allows candidates, voters and potential voters to easily voice their opinion on the issue.

Using multimedia technologies to show the televised debate and candidates Blumenthal and McMahon’s answers (live), Mertens and his team will pause to allow candidate Mertens to answer each question before resuming the televised broadcast, giving equal voice to all three candidates. Olwen Logan, publisher of three online local news publications, writer and PR consultant, will be moderating the event.

“John Mertens’ broadcast is a brilliantly creative way of using technology to push back against the duopoly which continues to exclude him and other alternative voices from being heard,” said Christina Tobin, founder and chair of The Free and Equal Elections Foundation. “Voters everywhere deserve to hear from all candidates for public office so they can make educated decisions at the polls.”

“We’re inviting the audience to be citizen journalists during the debate through twitter, and to stay after to connect and discuss issues,” Mertens said.

The schedule is as follows:

Monday, October 4, 2010 @ Anna Liffey’s New Haven
6:00-6:45 pm: Meet John and friends
6:45-8:15 pm: People’s Debate
8:15 onward: Socials (talk with us about anything) and MNF
Livestream details on website and via @Mertens4Senate and #CTSen.

Southwestern Community College Goes One Step Further, Censors Student Journalists.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Universities and media outlets across California are excluding alternative candidates from participating in the debates they sponsor. The September 28 debate held at the University of California at Davis and co-sponsored by The Sacramento Bee included Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman, but excluded all the other candidates. Other universities and media outlets have followed suit.

While colleges already suppress dissenting voices in the student population, they are also suppressing them in vital public debates.  Once bastions of intellectual freedom, many of our nation’s universities have created a repressive environment, hindering tomorrow’s leaders from absorbing ideas from anyone but the leading Republican and Democratic candidates. And the media has continued the censorship through their coverage of only the top funded candidates.

The next debate will take place at California State University at Fresno, Saturday, October 2.  As with previous debates, Fresno has proven its lack of courage and fairness to the candidates and their student population by excluding all gubernatorial candidates except for Brown and Whitman.

“Voters deserve to hear from all candidates in an open and fair debate, not just the leading Republican and Democrat,” said Christina Tobin, founder and chair of The Free and Equal Elections Foundation. “On behalf of Free and Equal, I urge Americans everywhere to contact California State University, Fresno, to let them know you don’t approve of candidate censorship.”

Mainstream media is supported by the welfare of large corporations that fund the top Republican and Democratic candidates as well as the top-funded candidates themselves. Voters have become disillusioned by the media and their bias. However, taxpayer-funded universities should not be used to exclude candidates.

In a separate but related issue, the Southwestern Community College governing board has threatened the school newspaper, The Sun, to not print its first edition. The paper has been critical of some board members, and the board wants to halt printing until after the elections. The board threatened the paper and staff and attempted to arrest some students.

“The United States of America was established with a Declaration of Independence followed by a Bill of Rights ensuring our unalienable rights including freedom of speech. To hear that a college which is supposed to teach free ideas and encourage independence is suppressing free press and ideas is alarming,” said Chelene Nightingale, the Constitution Party’s gubernatorial candidate for California. “Every student, in fact every American, needs to stand up now and defend liberty, especially now during the election process.  If our election process is compromised and every voice is not heard, we the people will suffer the consequences of oppression. John Adams once stated, ‘once liberty is lost, it is gone forever.’”

“Californians are thoroughly disgusted with both Democratic and Republican Parties, and yet candidates from those Titanic Parties are the only ones invited to debate, even when Dominican University in San Rafael calls its debate the Green Debate. When the pollsters ask if people want the independent parties in the debates, the vast majority say ‘Yes!’” said Laura Wells, California’s Green Party gubernatorial candidate. “In a mockery of free speech, the Supreme Court declared that corporate money is ‘free speech’ while our peace officers confine real persons, when we rally for inclusion in the debates, into a fenced-in ‘free speech zone.’ California itself loses the debate when the independent political parties are not at the table to bring in the real issues and the real solutions.”

“It seems that those who have taken over most of our education system no longer believe in free speech and wish to suppress those who dare speak out. We need to put these fools out of business and remind them that free speech is a major cornerstone of democracy,” said Dale Ogden, Libertarian candidate for governor of California.

“We call for the inclusion of all ballot qualified candidates in any debate using public air waves through TV or radio for the statewide elections in which they are running. We also urge all candidates who are running for statewide office to join this call for democratic inclusion of all ballot qualified candidates on all televised and radio debates,” said Carlos Alvarez, California’s Peace and Freedom Party gubernatorial candidate.

Free and Equal will host a press conference in Sacramento, Calif. – specific location to-be-announced – to discuss the vital need for all-inclusive debates, Wednesday, October 6, at 1:00 p.m. The press conference will be followed by a fundraiser, to benefit Free and Equal’s production of all-inclusive candidate debates nationwide, in Mill Valley, Calif., Saturday, October 9.

All six California gubernatorial candidates are invited to both events to speak in support of Free and Equal’s movement to support all-inclusive debates, and Wells, Ogden and Alvarez will speak at both events, with Nightingale joining them for the press conference and tentatively for the fundraiser. Free and Equal also will invite all U.S. senatorial candidates to participate at both the press conference and fundraiser.

During October, Tobin will moderate back-to-back, all-inclusive gubernatorial and U.S. senatorial candidate debates in Illinois, Oklahoma and California.

The candidate forum will be the first non-partisan event of its kind in Kentucky and will include candidates for both the 2010 and 2011 races. Over 90 federal, state and local candidates have been invited to participate, including Democrats, Republicans, Independents and those from all alternative parties, with 25 participants confirmed.

“Kentucky voters deserve the right to hear from all candidates, so they can make informed decisions at the voting booth,” said Christina Tobin, Free and Equal founder and chair. “This event is designed to do just that by providing an open forum for all candidates to freely express their position on vital issues facing our nation and the Commonwealth of Kentucky today.”

Tobin is the keynote speaker for this event and an up-to-date list of confirmed speakers is posted on the Kentucky Freedom Digest website.  The event is free and open to the public.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Christi Gillespie, Ky. State Coordinator

+1.859.396.8972

christigillespie@freeandequal.org

MILL VALLEY, Calif., – Christina Tobin, founder and chair of The Free and Equal Elections Foundation, today announced she will host a press conference in support of Proposition 19, the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010. The press conference will take place at the Yes on 19 headquarters at 1776 Broadway in Oakland, International Peace Day, Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at 10:30 a.m.

Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, Yes on 19 Field Coordinator James Rigdon and Gerald Murray, national youth coordinator for Laura Chinchilla’s 2010 Costa Rica presidential campaign, will join Tobin to speak at the press conference.

Topics to be addressed will include Proposition 19, U.S. occupation of Costa Rica, genetically modified organisms, preventing Top Two from spreading across the country and implementing proportional representation nationwide. Video of the press conference will be posted on the Free and Equal website later this week.

“Voting Yes on Proposition 19 gives people the opportunity, like almost never before, to vote for liberty, common sense, fiscal responsibility, practicality and less intrusive government – all at the same time!” said Honorable Jim Gray, a vocal supporter of marijuana legalization. ”This will be one of the most important and pivotal elections of my lifetime!”

“Passing Prop 19 will allow the voters to strike a tremendous blow to violent cartels, larger than any law enforcement effort ever could. Marijuana prohibition policy has failed just like alcohol prohibition once did. We have an opportunity to have safer communities if we choose to regulate, control and tax cannabis in November,” said Dale Sky Jones of the Yes on Prop 19 campaign and Executive Chancellor of Oaksterdam University. “Free and Equal has been a wonderful supporter of this movement, supporting the passage of Prop. 19.”

MILL VALLEY, Calif. – Christina Tobin, founder and chair of The Free and Equal Elections Foundation, today announced details of her meeting with Costa Rica Vice President Alfio Piva and Founder and President of Costa Rica Libertarian Party (Partido Movimiento Libertario) Otto Guevara. Tobin also announced she will host a press conference, Thursday, September 9, 2010, in Seattle.

Christina Tobin and Alfio Pivia

Christina Tobin and Otto Guevara

Tobin met with Vice President Piva for over an hour, Monday, August 30, to discuss electoral reform, proportional representation, marijuana legalization and war. The two also discussed the recent deployment of U.S. Marines to Costa Rica, where Tobin was told the United States is paying Costa Rica $300,000 per month to have U.S. troops present in the country. In addition, Tobin and Piva talked about the dangers of a top two primary system, which threatens to spread from California across the United States.

In a separate meeting, Saturday, September 6, Guevara discussed with Tobin details of the relations between the United States and Costa Rica. The 10-year agreement involving the occupation of 7,000 U.S. Marines was signed by former Costa Rica President Oscar Arias, who is reported to have close ties to the Obama administration, not the current President Laura Chinchilla. According to Guevara, if Costa Rica legalizes marijuana, the United States would stop sending funding and cut off agricultural exports to the United States. At the end of the recorded meeting, Guevara endorsed all electoral reform initiatives that Free and Equal pursues in the 50 states. A recording of the meeting will be available soon.

“America needs to take the lead in marijuana legalization,” said Gerald Murray, national youth coordinator for Laura Chinchilla’s 2010 presidential campaign. “If Costa Rica were to legalize it before the United States, we would risk losing a large part of our economy, the agricultural products that we export to the U.S.”

In total, U.S. goods imported from Costa Rica totaled $5.6 billion in 2009, while U.S. imports of agricultural products from Costa Rica totaled $1.1 billion in the same year, according to reports from the office of the United States Trade Representative. According to the same reports, leading imports from Costa Rica include: fresh fruit at $425 million, bananas and plantains at $211 million and unroasted coffee at $153 million.

“It’s despicable that the United States has such ‘authority’ over a sovereign nation such as Costa Rica,” Tobin said. “There’s a lot we can learn from Costa Rica, nonetheless the U.S. government continues to bully other countries to achieve its objectives, a hopelessly undemocratic tactic to international policy.”

Tobin also was scheduled to meet with President Laura Chinchilla while in Costa Rica, however the meeting has been rescheduled for later this year due to a last-minute conflict.

Tobin to Give Seattle Press Conference, Thursday.

Tobin will give a press conference in Seattle, Thursday, September 9, 1 pm to 2:30 pm. In addition to Tobin, Donovan Rivers, Washington Democratic candidate for Congress; John Davis, a Hempfest chief; Rachel Hawkridge, chair of the Libertarian Party of Washington; Linde Knighton, chair of the Progressive Party of Washington; and Gentry Lang, political activist for voting reform, are slated to speak at the press conference. Topics will include: Top Two election systems, proportional representation, election fraud, all inclusive debates, the war on drugs, and war. While in Seattle, Tobin will attend Marc Emery’s sentencing hearing, scheduled for Friday, September 10, 1 pm to 3 pm. All events will be at the South steps of the Federal Courthouse, located at 700 Steward St., Seattle, Wash.

In addition, a number of high-profile gubernatorial debates, which exclude all candidates except Democrat Jerry Brown and Republican rival Meg Whitman, have been scheduled throughout California. This non-inclusive debate series will kick off September 28 with a televised debate hosted at the University of California, Davis, and co-sponsored by the Sacramento Bee, to be followed by an October 2 debate at California State University, Fresno, and a Ronn Owens radio debate October 5 on KGO-810 AM. Tom Brokaw has agreed to moderate the final debate, October 12, sponsored and hosted by Dominican University of California.

“Non-inclusive debates are not a new phenomenon,” said Christina Tobin, founder and chair of The Free and Equal Elections Foundation. “However, the true purpose of candidate debates should be to provide a forum for all qualified candidates to discuss the issues and provide voters with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions at the polls.”

Brown has challenged Whitman to a number of joint town hall appearances in addition to the already confirmed debate schedule.

“Every one of these debates is hosted by a credible organization, guaranteeing a fair and open forum,” Brown said in a statement, reported on The Sacramento Bee’s Capital Alert blog. “There is no reason not to participate, no reason not to say what we really mean, and show the voters who we are.”

“Brown’s guarantee of a fair and open forum is severely flawed,” Tobin said. “The only way to make these debates truly fair and open is to include all qualified candidates. They deserve the opportunity to participate, say what they really mean and show the voters who they are as well. If Brown wants to promote fairness, he should start playing fair, himself.”

“Non-inclusive debates do not provide voters with the answers they need to make informed decisions at the polls,” Tobin said. “These faux debates only work with insider candidates and partisan media, providing little if any substantial information.”

Gubernatorial candidates, Chelene Nightingale of the Constitution Party and Laura Wells of the Green Party, along with California Peace & Freedom Party State Chair C.T. Weber, Libertarian National Chair Mark Hinkle, Green Party National Co-Chair Michael Feinstein and Constitution Party National Chair Jim Clymer, have said they agree with Free and Equal’s opposition of all non-inclusive candidate debates.

“All Free and Equal debates follow a strict policy of inviting every eligible candidate,” Tobin said. “Free and Equal is calling on other debate organizers to follow our lead by doing what is right for the people, not favoring the political insiders and biased media.”

“Free & Equal will continue to shine light on this unfair and corrupt practice in addition to hosting truly open and all-inclusive debates across the country,” Tobin said. “Free and Equal is teaming up with student organizations at universities nationwide to produce the all-inclusive debates the public is crying for. The students are our next generation of leaders, and Free and Equal is thrilled to be part of their introduction to civic responsibility, in hopes of providing a much more just future for Americans across the board.”

With university and student support, Free and Equal will produce a string of all-inclusive, back-to-back gubernatorial and U.S. senatorial candidate debates beginning with debates in California, Illinois and Oklahoma, with more states signing on rapidly.

“Students for Sensible Drug Policy chapters are stepping up to the plate in several states and we are anticipating support from other groups such as Students for Liberty, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and student governments, among others, to join in and help,” Tobin said.

All Free and Equal debates will be streamed live on freeandequal.org and will cover a number of important issues including economics, war, drugs, election reform and proportional representation in addition to many others.

Principles Over Parties, a pro-liberty, antiwar and free speech rally will take place Saturday, September 4, 2 – 4 p.m. at San Francisco Civic Center and will include prominent speakers including Congressman Ron Paul, candidate for U.S. House John Dennis and former San Francisco supervisor Matt Gonzalez, all of whom have stated they support all-inclusive debates.

Free & Equal has launched a petition to open all debates to include all qualified candidates and would appreciate your support of our mission by signing the petition and spreading the word.

Update: The date and location of the first U.S. Senatorial candidate debate organized by Free and Equal Elections Foundation will be rescheduled due to unforeseen conflicts with back-to-school activities at Northern Illinois University at DeKalb. Free and Equal is working with the University and sponsor, Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, to reschedule the event as soon as possible. Tentative dates include: August 24, 25, 26 or September 8.

Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity officials also are accepting additional co-sponsoring organizations to speed along the rescheduling process. Free and Equal previously has organized three gubernatorial debates in Illinois, the most recent of which was sponsored in part by Kappa Alpha Psi at Chicago State University.

“On behalf of Free and Equal, I would like to apologize to the invited candidates, the press and attendees for any confusion or inconvenience this delay has caused,” said Christina Tobin, CEO and founder of Free and Equal Elections Foundation. “Free and Equal hopes to release the new date, time and location for the debate within the next week.”

All candidates who filed enough signatures to appear on the ballot will be invited to participate in the debate, including: Alexi Giannoulias, Democrat; Mark Kirk, Republican; LeAlan Jones, Green; Will Boyd, Independent; Corey Dabney, Independent; Mike Labno, Libertarian; Carl Officer, Practical; and Randy Stufflebeam, Constitution.

“Free and Equal is committed to giving all qualified candidates an equal voice in the debate,” Tobin said. “Illinois voters deserve a diversity of choices on the ballot. This all-partisan debate is meant to show the voters the kinds of choices they could and should have in November.”

Charles Thomas at Chicago’s local ABC affiliate and Sam Hudzik at Chicago Public Radio WBEZ 91.5 reported this week about the struggles some of these candidates still face getting on the ballot.

Free and Equal’s third Illinois gubernatorial debate, that took place in July, was covered by dozens of media outlets, including public radio stations WBEZ in Chicago, WSIU in Carbondale, and WILL in Champaign, along with the Chicago Sun-Times, Southtown Star, Huffington Post, Dekalb Daily-Chronicle, Chicagoist and the Chicago Tribune Media Group’s ChicagoNow. A live stream of the U.S. Senatorial debate will be available at freeandequal.org.

“The response to the last debate, from people in attendance and from those watching at home on their computers, has been tremendous,” Tobin said. “There is a hunger out there for more discussion and debate about the substantive issues that we all face. Free and Equal is looking to provide Illinois voters with more opportunities to learn about their political choices.”

Free and Equal will continue to organize all-inclusive candidate debates in Illinois and other states throughout this election season. September will kick-off a string of University hosted, student group sponsored and Free and Equal organized candidate debates across California. Additional information regarding California debates will be released as it becomes available.

Seeking to overturn Georgia’s ballot-access laws, Coffield and other plaintiffs filed a lawsuit, Coffield v Handel, 09-13277, that is being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. An en banc hearing by all the circuit judges has been requested after the three judge panel ruled against Coffield, March 22, 2010.

In the appeal, Coffield requests the court to consider the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Storer v. Brown, 1974, which suggests that if candidates only rarely are able to overcome steep signature requirements, then that should be used as a guide to determine whether those requirements should be set aside as too harsh.

The 11th Circuit panel noted in the Coffield v Handel ruling, that Coffield did not provide information on how many independent candidates had attempted to get on the ballot in Georgia, despite the fact that Coffield would have no way of knowing that information because Georgia does not keep such records and independent candidates are not required to give notice that they are petitioning. The panel also did not recognize Storer v. Brown, which calls for consideration of the number of candidates who have succeeded in overcoming the requirement. The panel instead asked how many candidates had failed at overcoming the requirement.

“Federal courts should be looking at how many candidates have been able to meet harsh requirements before they look at how many have failed,” said Christina Tobin, CEO and founder of Free and Equal Elections Foundation. “If they insist on wanting examples of failed candidates there is plenty of evidence from Georgia this year showing independent and alternative party candidates have real problems meeting some of the worst requirements in the US.”

At the statewide level, Brad Bryant, independent candidate for State Schools Superintendent, and Raymond Boyd, independent candidate for Governor of Georgia, failed to collect the legal minimum number of petition signatures, 44,089, and therefore decided against filing any petitions for candidacy.

Mary Norwood, independent candidate for Fulton County Commission Chair, has been denied a spot on the ballot despite her submission of roughly 33,000 signatures to meet the legal requirement of 22,598. Election officials never finished checking Norwood’s petition and denied her spot because she was four hours late to pay the filing fee, despite the petition deadline two weeks later. The deadline for the filing fee was at noon, instead of 5pm when offices close.

Despite precedents that have been set with party-affiliated candidates submitting late notice of candidacy, Norwood was denied ballot access. “We pursued ballot access, because in our view, we had ‘substantial compliance with the law,’ and we had accomplished the impossible – gathering over 33,000 signatures in less than 90 days. Had I not raised $2 million in the preceding year running for Mayor of Atlanta, I don’t believe we could have gathered the requisite number of petitioners,” Norwood said. “Georgia’s ballot access laws need to be changed for the sake of all candidates who want to serve our citizens.”

In addition, six independent candidates submitted petitions to run for state legislature, of which, two candidates’ petitions have been invalidated because they did not have enough valid signatures. The Times-Herald reported online, Tuesday, August 3, 2010, that Keith Tompkins, independent candidate for state Rep. of Georgia’s 70th House district, said he thinks that he was denied ballot access because some of his petitions were on 8.5 by 11 paper instead of the size required by law. Verification of the petition signatures turned in by the other four independent candidates have not yet been returned but results are expected to be returned soon.

“Georgia needs to reform their ballot access laws immediately,” Tobin said. “These are real people who wanted to run for office and they were wrongly denied that chance. Candidates being kicked off the ballot for using normal paper instead of the bigger legal size paper on a few petitions should not be tolerated in a free and equal democracy.”

Brad Ploeger, Libertarian candidate for the 59th District in the Georgia House, was also recently denied a place on the ballot. Ploeger collected more petition signatures than the number required but his petitioning efforts still came up short because many signers were unsure of which house district they lived in when they signed his petition.

“More than two-thirds of the states use a filing fee system in lieu of signatures for candidates to gain ballot access,” Tobin said. “Georgia requires both filing fees and high numbers of signatures. Following the lead from other states of using filing fees instead of petition signatures would provide Georgia voters more choices without cluttering the ballot. Georgians deserve to have more independent candidates on their ballot for US House than one every 46 years.”

“StopTopTwo.org will be taking a new direction in California and will expand efforts against the spread of this bad reform to other states,” Tobin said. “The idea of the Top Two election system is already spreading quickly across the country and StopTopTwo.org is stepping up to the challenge of facing a national audience that deserves to be educated about this limited election system. StopTopTwo.org will take what has been happening in California and will share it nationwide in an effort to defend voter rights.”

Leading up to the June 8 election, StopTopTwo.org was the most comprehensive resource for information on Proposition 14, focused on voter education regarding the dangers and flaws of a Top Two election system and urged voters to vote against Proposition 14. The StopTopTwo.org website is in the process of transitioning to the new focus of educating voters across the country about Top Two election systems.

Within weeks of the election, public polls showed Proposition 14 would pass with 60% of the vote but the 53.7% final percentage showed that momentum had shifted toward a no vote. Election returns in several counties indicate that Proposition 14 was defeated by voters who went to the polls on Election Day.

Early mail-in ballots were influenced by the millions spent by special interests in favor of Proposition 14. The early ballots were also mailed before the media did much of their reporting on the potential downfalls of the Top Two system.

“We almost overcame being outspent by Governor Schwarzenegger and his rich friends 50 to 1,” Tobin said. “The vote didn’t turn out like we wanted, but this is hardly the end of our efforts in opposition of the Top Two system. StopTopTwo.org is not going to let up fighting against bad election laws.”

“We agree with the voters of California who are desperate for real changes and were willing to grasp at Proposition 14 before they learned more about it,” Tobin said. “Through the support of lawsuits like SB6 and further outreach efforts, StopTopTwo.org will show the voters in California that there are better reforms than this.”

Members of media, bloggers and all interested voters will be invited to a press conference next week to learn more about what is going on with Proposition 14, state Senate Bill 6 and StopTopTwo.org.

Contact:
Free and Equal
Christina Tobin, CEO
312.320.4101