On November 12, New Hampshire State Senator Theodore Gatsas resigned his seat in the New Hampshire Senate, because he had just been elected Mayor of Manchester. Shortly afterwards, the New Hampshire Executive Council said there will be a special election to fill that empty seat on February 16. It said that any independent candidate petitions for that race would be due January 12.
Joseph R. Hoell decided to run in that election with the ballot label “Constitution Party”. He needs 750 valid signatures. The New Hampshire independent petition for State Senate is one of the most difficult in the nation, even in regular elections, when candidates have approximately six months to get their signatures. A typical New Hampshire State Senate district cast about 26,000 votes for President in November 2008, so 750 signatures is about 2.5% of the active electorate. The only states with a higher percentage for that office, for independent candidates, are Georgia, North Carolina, California, Illinois, and North Dakota.
Last year the New Hampshire election code was amended to say that independent candidate petitions may only be circulated in even-numbered years. However, on December 10, the New Hampshire Secretary of State said that law doesn’t apply to special elections, even though the law itself doesn’t specify any exception for special elections. Thanks to Ken Blevins for this news.
Alabama require petitions from electors living in a Senate district that is equal to 3% of the previous governor’s election. This requires no less than 1100 0 signatures in most districts.
Yes, but because the turnout in midterm gubernatorial years is so low in Alabama, the percentage in Alabama is actually lower in the typical State Senate district than in New Hampshire.
Richard, I’m not sure I understand. Why is 750 signatures such a difficult requirement? Seems easy compared to the 10,000 you need in SC. Is it difficult because you can only get the signatures from that one district?
No one needs 10,000 signatures to get on the ballot in South Carolina as an independent for state senate. The 10,000 is the statewide requirement. The district petitions are 5% of the number of registered voters, which is, of course, tied for the most severe in the nation.
New Hampshire petitioning is rough because only one signature per sheet is permitted.
Are out of state petitioners allowed to help in this cause?