On May 19, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed HB 1355, which hugely increases ballot access barriers for new political parties that wish to run someone for President. See this story. The bill also forbids anyone from running in a partisan primary for any office if that candidate had switched parties at any time during the year before filing. If this law had been in effect in Pennsylvania in 2010, former U.S. Senator Arlen Specter would not have been permitted to run in the Democratic primary, something that he actually did do, although he lost that primary.
All Florida legislators took an oath to support both the Florida Constitution, and the U.S. Constitution. The Florida Constitution says, “Article VI. Suffrage and Elections. Section One. Regulation of Elections. The requirements for a candidate with no party affiliation or for a candidate of a minor party for placement of the candidate’s name on the ballot shall be no greater than the requirements for a candidate of the party having the largest number of registered voters.”
Yet the new law requires the presidential candidate of a party that has not received recognition from the Federal Election Commission as a national committee to submit 335,000 valid signatures, on a petition that names the candidate, no later than July 15. There is no provision in the law for a stand-in. The petition must contain the signatures of approximately 10,000 registered voters from each of 14 U.S. House districts. The party must pay to have its signatures checked. Meanwhile, of course, the Democratic Party (the party that has the most registered voters in Florida) doesn’t need any petition.
The FEC will not give “national committee” status to a new party. The old parties that have that status are the Republican, Democratic, Libertarian, Green, Constitution, Socialist, Natural Law, and Reform Parties. The Green Party did not receive its “national committee” status until 2001, even though it first began contesting presidential elections in 1996. The Reform Party, which was formed in 1995, did not get “national committee” status until 1998. The only time the FEC ever gave “national committee” status to a party in its first year of existence was in late September 1992, for the Natural Law Party. But that came far too late in the year to meet the new Florida law’s July 15 deadline.
Gaaah no. Not right, Florida.
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I thought he said he wouldn’t sign this legislation?
@3 – maybe he doesn’t see this as “limiting voter turnout”
Don’t blame the Florida Legislature. If anyone is to blame, it most likely is the person who filed all those political party names, causing a headache for the SOS office. This was their way to keep the organization of a new political party a serious matter – not a joke or a toy.
#5, there is another section in the bill that handles the problem of the guy who filed 40 parties. That is a completely separate issue. You should blame the legislature. The process was so bad, there was no hearing on the ballot access part of the bill. And the press in Florida has been almost entirely silent about the ballot access changes.
It’s also their way of breaking the law and suppressing voter turnout and the rights of voters. But why nitpick.
Party hack robots in FL are super-sensitive to Prez stuff due to the infamous Bush v. Gore stuff in 2000.
The party hack robot oaths mean ZERO to them — UNTIL they get sued for violating constitutional RIGHTS.
Separate is NOT equal.
Each election is NEW.
P.R. and App.V.
Richard. You may be right, but I believe the actions of this person gave them the excuse to do what they did which had no relation to his activities. All these Democrats and Republicans look for is “an opening” and this provided them one.
Maybe now, in Florida it will cause many of those “conservative” parties to work together with the stronger conservative 3rd party, and the “liberals” parties to work together with the stronger liberal 3rd party.
There are too many little 3rd parties as it is. Most are nothing but “big frogs in little ponds” who, if they can’t control the party, they are off to form their own. This is why the major parties have no real fear of 3rd parties or independents. We’re too loosely organized and don’t want to work together because someone does not cross their “t’s” and dot their “i’s” just the way we think they should. 3rd partisans (and independents” are their own worst enemies.
#9, no legislator ever needed an “excuse” for wrecking ballot access, because no one in Florida seems to have even asked any legislator about why they did that. The author of the bill even said that he didn’t know which legislator introduced the ballot access parts of the bill.
This provision will be overthrown in court. A lawsuit is already in the planning stages.
@10 – can you disclose who is bringing the lawsuit?
If the DNC was not recognized by the FEC as a national committee, would they not have to petition, regardless of their registration number in Florida, and couldn’t a party with only a handful of members in Florida be recognized as a national committee by the FEC?
Richard: I trust you are right that parts of the law will be thrown out. But I still stand my position that there are simply too many 3rd parties in the United States. I’m not advocating for only a 3 party system, but 5 or 6 total parties are more than sufficient for meeting the legitimate philosophical differances of responsible Americans. Any thing more than this brings political chaos.
#12, if the Democrats weren’t recognized by the FEC, this bill would not have passed! But that is a funny point you raise. And it is ironic that the Natural Law Party is recognized by the FEC even though it is defunct nationally, and is no longer ballot-qualified in Florida. It is still on the ballot in Michigan, however.
#11, I can’t yet. But it’s a good question and as soon as I can say, I will.
Oddly enough Florida’s most crowded general election ballot for President with 13 candidates is no more than the most crowded major party presidential primary ballot since 2000.
Hew Hampshire had 21 candidates in the 2008 GOP Primary.