The Coalition for Free & Open Elections (COFOE) holds its annual Board meeting on Saturday, June 16, at 10 a.m., in New York city. COFOE is 22 years old. It is a loose-knit coalition of the nation’s nationally-organized minor parties, plus other organizations that care about ballot access. This year, the chief topic on the agenda will probably be Oklahoma. Observers to the meeting are expected from the Working Families Party and Unity08.

COFOE is financed by membership dues. Members contribute $25 per year, and in return receive a free subscription to Ballot Access News. COFOE income, though relatively small, has helped finance ballot access lawsuits. When these lawsuits win, the attorney on COFOE’s side receives attorneys’ fees from the states. Then the attorney rebates back to COFOE any contributions from COFOE.

Unfortunately, even though two important ballot access lawsuits that had been backed by COFOE won last year, neither of the states involved (Ohio and Illinois) has paid COFOE’s attorneys their attorneys’ fees yet. Ohio says the Secretary of State’s budget is empty and the attorney must wait for the new fiscal year, which starts July 2007. Illinois admits it owes attorneys fees but is fighting over the amount, a fight which may take months to resolve. In the meantime, COFOE’s treasury is almost empty. This is a serious problem. COFOE intends to arrange an amicus curiae brief in the Pennsylvania ballot access case soon to be filed in the U.S. Supreme Court. Also, COFOE has already committed to helping launch a lawsuit against North Carolina’s law on how independent candidates for US House get on the ballot (the law is so severe, no independent candidate for US House has ever appeared on a government-printed ballot in North Carolina).

Please consider joining COFOE. One can send a check made out to COFOE for $25 and postally mailing it to PO Box 470296, San Francisco Ca 94147. Or, one can use PayPal. If you wish to use PayPal, contact Richard Winger at richardwinger@yahoo.com for instructions. As a member, you will receive Ballot Access News in the postal mail. The June 1 issue is in the mail now, and will be of special interest to anyone who is interested in Oklahoma.