Sacramento Press Conference Coverage and Pictures
The Sacramento Bee’s excellent Capitol Alert blog headed by Torey Van Oot gave us a nice mention. Plaintiff Richard Winger, publisher of Ballot Access news, and Stop Top Two founder Christina Tobin will be on hand for the 10:30 a.m. news conference at the Capitol’s south steps. Pictures from the Press Conference – Richard Winger [...]
SB6 Lawsuit to be Discussed at Tuesday Press Conference at California State Capitol.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Richard Winger, elections expert and plaintiff in the lawsuit against Senate Bill 6, and Christina Tobin, CEO and founder of Free and Equal Elections Foundation and StopTopTwo.org creator, will give a press conference on the south steps of the California State Capitol, near the corner of 11th and N streets, Tuesday, August [...]
Richard Winger and Christina Tobin to Host Sacramento Press Conference on Election Reforms
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Richard Winger, plaintiff in the lawsuit against Senate Bill 6, and Christina Tobin, CEO and founder of Free and Equal Elections Foundation and StopTopTwo.org creator, will give a press conference on the south steps of the California State Capitol, Tuesday, August 17, 10:30 a.m. Richard Winger is publisher and editor of Ballot [...]
Sen. Roland Burris is Right to Appeal Judge Grady’s Decision
On Tuesday November 2, 2010 Illinois voters will elect two US Senators. One election will be for a full 6 year term beginning in January 2011. The second election will be for a temporary term for the two months until January 2011. In the US District Court of Northern Illinois on August 2, Judge John [...]
Free and Equal Radio Show – 8/3/2010
Free & Equal Radio Tuesday Night 9pm to 11pm Central Time. (7-9pm PT) Michael White starts off the show. He is the Constitution Party candidate for Governor of Illinois, and participated in Free and Equal’s debate for IL Governor. Their petitions are being challenged. Michael will update us on his campaign and how the Constitution [...]
StopTopTwo.org’s Christina Tobin Tells Governor Schwarzengger to Chill Out.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – As reported in the San Jose Mercury News yesterday, Thursday, July 29, a lawsuit was filed charging that state Senate Bill 6 is unconstitutional. SB 6 is the legislation that put Proposition 14, the Top Two election system, on the June 8 California ballot. Specifically, the lawsuit claims that SB 6 bans [...]
Christina Tobin to Speak at 2010 Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy
Important information about the 2010 Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy from the Christina Tobin for California Secretary of State website. Free and Equal Elections Foundation is one of the sponsors of this awesome event and we encourage everyone to check it out. The logo and link for this event is also at the top [...]
Media Ignores Ethic of Balanced Reporting in Effort to Push Agenda
SAN FRANCISCO – The recently finished campaign surrounding Proposition 14 in California has revealed startling insights into the way media outlets cover essential issues facing voters. Since the proposition passed June 8, Free and Equal Elections staff have continued to follow media coverage of Proposition 14 in California and the spread of the Top Two [...]
Top Two Election Idea Spreading, StopTopTwo.org Is There To Fight It
Christina Tobin, StopTopTwo.org Chair and founder of Free and Equal Election Foundation, issued a statement today promoting the ongoing efforts in opposition to Top Two election systems. “StopTopTwo.org is alive and kicking, and we are going to continue fighting this Top Two election system wherever it pops up,” Christina Tobin said. “This doesn’t stop with [...]
Free & Equal: Cook County Republicans following George Ryan’s political playbook
Christina Tobin, founder of Free and Equal Elections Foundation, released a statement today in response to an email recently put out by the Cook County Republicans on behalf of the Illinois Republican Party. The email started with a shocking admission by Illinois Republicans that they intend to challenge candidates’ petitions based on the potential political [...]
Free and Equal in Detroit for 2nd US Social Forum and Green Party Annual National Meeting
Free and Equal Elections Founder Christina Tobin and Executive Director Sean Haugh will both attend the 2nd US Social Forum in Detroit, MI this week. From the event website we have this description: The gathering in Atlanta in June 2007 had 12,000 people come together in the belief that “Another World Was Possible!” Movement forces [...]
Christina Tobin issues statement on passage of Proposition 14 in California
San Francisco, CA (June 17, 2010) – In April of this year, the Town of Port Chester, NY adopted cumulative voting. New York is again making progress with electoral reform, with the introduction of a bill to allow Instant Runoff Voting for municipal and county offices. As usual with IRV, after each round the lowest [...]
Ralph Nader to Speak against Proposition 14 on Ron Owen’s KGO Show at 9:30 a.m. on Monday
Ralph Nader to Speak against Proposition 14 on Ron Owen’s KGO Show at 9:30 a.m. on Monday Ralph Nader will speak today against Proposition 14, the Top Two Primaries Act that Gov. Schwarzenegger, Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado, and the California Chamber of Commerce are pushing onto Californians. Nader is scheduled to speak on Ron Owen’s [...]
Prop 14 Opponents Schedule Election Night Press Availability in Sacramento
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Christina Tobin (415) 599-5222 Cres Vellucci (916) 996-9170 SACRAMENTO – Opponents of Prop 14, the June 8 ballot measure that would limit the number of candidates in general elections to just two, will hold an election night press availability at 2868 Northgate Blvd, Suite 103 starting at 7:30 p.m. Other anti-Prop [...]
Proposition 14 Fact vs. Fiction: Thoughts from Political Scientists Seth Masket and Boris Shor
On Tuesday, June 8, California voters will decide the fate of Proposition 14, the controversial ballot measure also known as the Top Two Primaries Act. Two leading political scientists, Boris Shor and Seth Masket, have studied the polarization problem extensively. Their findings show that Proposition 14 will not solve California’s partisanship problem. Political scientist Boris [...]
Ralph Nader Warns Californians: Vote NO on Proposition 14 — Stop the “Top Two” Tyranny
Ralph Nader Warns Californians: Vote NO on Proposition 14 — Stop the “Top Two” Tyranny Ralph Nader, who has run for president both as an independent and as a third-party candidate, today warned against the ballot proposition promoted by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. “Californians need to defeat Proposition 14 or they will risk further entrenching the [...]
Progressive Party Movement Opposes Proposition 14 in California Vote
Progressive Party Movement Opposes Proposition 14 in California Vote American Progressives United and the Progressive Parties in Minnesota and Washington State urge California voters to vote no on Proposition 14 on June 8. Proposition 14, the top-two election system, is being pushed in California as a way to let anyone run in the primary election. [...]
Washington State’s Third Party Leaders Issue Anti-Proposition 14 Statement
Leaders from Washington State’s Third Party Coalition released a statement today urging California voters to vote no on Proposition 14. The coalition is comprised of the American Heritage Party, Constitution Party, Green Party, Libertarian Party, and Progressive Party. Here is the full text of the statement: The Top Two Primary System in Action — The [...]
California’s Top Two is Far Worse that Washington’s Top Two
We’ve found that many people see California’s Proposition 14, the “Top Two Primaries Act,” as a rather simple concept. Unfortunately, the devil is in the details. For example, even for people who like the Washington State Top Two system, there are plenty of reasons to oppose Proposition 14 on the June 8, 2010 ballot. Unlike [...]
The good fight in Georgia / Where’s Christina Tobin?
A bill has been introduced in the Georgia state House that would eliminate all petitioning requirements for third party and independent candidates for local and statewide offices. This news comes to us from Voter GA, a grassroots election-reform organization in Georgia. House Bill 1257 would save Georgia taxpayers money by eliminating the need to pay [...]
Letters push Oklahoma House Bill 1072
On Saturday, Free & Equal Media Director Micah Gamino got a Letter to the Editor published in The Oklahoman, the state’s largest daily newspaper, in support of ballot-access reform. His letter and a letter by Oklahoma Pirate Party Chairman Marcus Kesler were responses to this editorial by The Oklahoman on March 6 that mentioned Free & Equal. Thanks to [...]
Stubborn Oklahoma lawmakers need to hear from you
Oklahoma’s largest newspaper, The Oklahoman, mentioned Free & Equal in an editorial titled “Access endeavor” on March 6. The daily paper claimed that our support for House Bill 1072 – a measure to ease the state’s third party signature requirement – probably won’t “do much good” because Oklahoma lawmakers are “reluctant” towards reform. Is The [...]
Illinois ballot access tyrannical, switch to filing fees imperative
Chicago – Free & Equal Election Law Attorney Andrew Spiegel is drafting a legislative proposal that would replace all Illinois signature requirements with modest filing fees. This would apply to all candidates, regardless of political affiliation. Illinois requires all candidates running for statewide office to collect signatures to get on the ballot in primary elections; meanwhile, nearly two-thirds [...]
Filing fees state-by-state
Two-thirds of the states require only a filing fee for candidates of qualified parties to get on the ballot in primary elections. Illinois is one of the few states with a signature requirement, while allowing any citizen to challenge those signatures. Primary Ballot Access for Statewide Candidates (source: Ballot Access News) State Petition Requirement or [...]
