On July 3, someone challenged the Illinois statewide petition for the Constitution Party. Since the party submitted only 4,800 signatures, and 25,000 are required, this means the party won’t be on the November ballot. Illinois is the only state in which it is possible for a petition that, on its face, has fewer signatures than are required, to still be valid…but only if no one challenges.
Ballot Access News
Edited By Richard Winger
I thought Indiana was the same way?
Do we know who challenged it?
not true – candidates squeak by in New York, too. David McReynolds was just shy of the 15,000 sigs needed to get on the ballot as a Green in NY in 2004, but still got on the ballot because no one challenged.
The difference between Illinois and New York is that in New York, the Board of Elections is free to thrown out petitions on its own motion, if the petition contains a smaller number of signatures than is legally required. Thus, the New York Board itself removed Constitution Party presidential candidate Michael Peroutka in 2004, even though no one challenged him. That couldn’t have happened in Illinois.
In the state of Indiana you need 30,000 signatures to get on the ballot. They changed it from 8,000 in 1986 because the American Party kept getting on the ballot, even after it stopped being a national party. You could also stay on the ballot for the next four years for all office races should the Secretary of State candidate win over 8,000 votes or 1/2 of one percent.
While it is almost certain that Stufflebeam will not get ballot access… As of right now the objection is pending. The same is true of the Independence Party of Illinois and if the Green Party truly had more than enough signatures, the signatures themselves still have to be contested and enough signatures elimiated to keep them from having ballot access.
So on the official side of things, Illinois is still in limbo although most certainly you can read the writing on the wall.