California requires independent candidates for legislature and U.S. House to submit 500 signatures in special elections. On July 9, the Secretary of State’s webpage was amended to reflect that such candidates in the upcoming U.S. House special election, 10th district, do indeed need 500 signatures. Earlier the webpage had said they require 1,000.
Whatever ANY govt bureaucrat says about anything is NOT the L-A-W.
Numerous folks have failed to get on ballots due to the MORON bureaucrats in election offices — who are brain dead ignorant about the LAW in many cases.
I.E. one has to have a computer doing 24/7 updates of election LAWS (which the party hacks keep changing).
Ah the Establishment Duopoly mind set —— Don Lake
Elections are transactional. There are candidates whose names appear on a ballot and there are voters who signify a preference from among all persons eligible to serve in specific office whether pre-printed on the ballot or not.
In a free election the voter is totally unrestricted in indicating a choice (even if that person to whom a vote is given is unqualified for any specific office); AND any person may be a candidate who meets the qualifications for the office.
Poll taxes denied voters access to the ballot and that denial prevented candidates from receiving votes. Poll taxes for voters have been formally abolished. Ballot access taxes remain which deny candidates access to the ballot and which deny voters access to candidates and candidates access to votes.
Most ballot access taxes are typically in the form of petitions which must show that permission is given by some number of potential voters to allow a candidate’s name to appear on a ballot. In some states voters cannot even write-in the names of candidates. This ballot access petitioning tax is just as discriminatory as asking a person to circulate a petition to gain the permission of other voters to cast a ballot.
All ballot access petition laws are inherently discriminatory and anti-democratic and should be formally abolished.
Obviously the same arguments apply to all candidate filing fees which are not 100% refundable upon conclusion of an election (recounts and litigation resolved).
Ballot access petitions are intolerable and grounds for secession.