On March 8, the Alabama Senate Constitution, Campaign Finance, Ethics & Elections Committee passed SB 17. This is Senator Cam Ward’s bill to lower the number of signatures needed for ballot access (for office other than President) from 3% of the last gubernatorial vote, to 1.5%. Thanks to Josh Cassity for this news. UPDATE: the 1.5% applies to statewide independent candidates. The petition for new and previously unqualified parties would be 1.5% or 5,000 signatures, whichever is less.
Thanks Josh !!
Separate is NOT equal — in all regimes.
Brown v. Bd of Ed 1954
How many party hack appointed Fed judges have ANY idea about what *equal* in 14th Amdt, Sec. 1 *means* ???
Any 1866 legal or regular dictionary with *equal* in it ???
This is a good step, still got the House to go, and then the Governor.
I’m still disappointed that there was not an option given for paying a filing fee in lieu of the petitions.
Florida has it, so does Louisiana, and perhaps some other states allow it for 3rd parties and independents. They haven’t been plagued with “overcrowded ballots” and neither would Alabama.
Maybe someday.
#3, also Oklahoma has that option, for independent candidates (but it doesn’t apply to presidential independents). Florida is similar to Oklahoma in that regard; Florida won’t let a presidential independent get on the ballot by paying a fee.
Good to hear. NC has a petition in lieu of filing fee option, but no filing fee in lieu of petition option as the filing fee is required of everyone except write-in candidates here in NC. In the future, that may be something to work on, but now, just like in Alabama, we have to get the major signature requirements brought down. Good luck Alabama!!