Activists from Californians for Electoral Reform, and also others, are seeking a California legislator to introduce a bill to lower the number of signatures needed for a statewide independent candidate. Assemblyman Mike Eng already asked the Legislative Counsel to draft such a bill, so that any legislator is free to introduce it before the February 19, 2010, deadline. If you have any connection with any California legislator, please ask for such a bill. The legislative counsel analysis is RN 10 03536.
The existing statewide independent candidate petition requirement, 173,041 signatures, is unjust. No independent petition in U.S. history has ever overcome a requirement greater than 134,781 signatures. The proposed bill caps the statewide California requirement at 50,000. Other than North Carolina, California is the only state in 2010 that requires as many signatures as 50,000. In 1973 the California legislature appointed an elite commission to study the election laws, and that committee recommended 10,000 signatures for statewide nominees. The commission was headed by the President of the League of Women Voters of California and the Registrar of Voters of Alameda County. The legislature never acted on that recommendation.
EQUAL nominating petitions for direct general election ballot access — for ALL candidates for the same office in the same election area
—- to merely conform with the EQUAL protection clause in 14th Amdt, Sec. 1
— regardless of the MORON Supremes unable to detect the *EQUAL* in the EPC in their many MORON ballot access cases since 1968.
P.R. legislative and nonpartisan A.V. executive / judicial
NO primaries are needed.
Is one signature (the candidate’s own signature) not equal for all? Demo Rep, how about a petition of ONE?
2 –
No, that’s absurd.
However, in light of the recent USSC decision, how about just requiring the signatures of 10 or 20 CEO’s of California-based corporations? Anything representing total capitalization of 800-900 million should be sufficient to ensure a democratic process.
Under SB 6 which has already been passed by the legislature and signed by the governor, 100 signatures will be required by statewide candidates, 40 for congressional candidates.
SB 6 becomes operative when Proposition 14 is approved.
Let us be a real democracy and lower the signature requirement, one being plenty.