In 2008, an independent presidential candidate in Texas will need 74,108 signatures. But a new party will need 43,939 signatures.
Completion of a new party petition will enable that party to nominate someone for every partisan office in the state. With 254 counties, all using partisan elections, each electing at least six or seven county offices, plus all the state and federal offices, a single new party petition could potentially add several thousand candidates to the November 2008 ballot.
But an independent presidential petition only adds one name to the ballot. Clearly, it is absurd for Texas to require 30,000 more signatures for an independent presidential candidate than for an entire new party. If anyone in Texas reads this, please ask your state legislator for a bill to ease the independent presidential petition. Another foolish aspect of the Texas presidential law is that statewide independent candidates for office other than president need 43,939 signatures in 2008, rather than 74,108. Still another foolish aspect is that independent petitions are due two weeks before the new party petition.
There is one big advantage to getting on as an independent: you’re in control. If you act as a party, you have to let anyone affiliate with your party and vote in your convention. They might nominate someone other than you. It could be argued that an independent presidential candidate is “paying” for the privilege of shutting out the masses.
As I recall, Ralph Nader sued over this in 2004 and lost.
By the way, it’s funny that the party petition count went down. The independent governor candidates were supposed to turn out tons of new voters….
A couple more things that are stupid about Texas ballot access petitions.
1) If a person votes in the primary election (which is held right before the petitions can come out) they are not allowed to sign a ballot access petition.
2) A person can only sign a petition for one political party and one independent.
I still think it would be better to either pay to get on the ballot or a candidate to prove they are a legitimate candidate to obtain ballot access.
I can not really understand the rational for making it harder to organize a new political party versus running as an indepedent or why independent candidates get seletc a party label (with some restrictions).