On May 26, the Louisiana House passed HB 533 unanimously. This is the Secretary of State’s omnibus election law bill. Among other things, it says independent candidates will have “independent” on the ballot next to their names. Current law requires that “no party” be on the ballot next to their names (although current law permits “independent” for presidential independent candidates).
The bill also removes the names of presidential elector candidates from the general election ballot. Currently, Louisiana is one of only six states that still prints the names of presidential elector candidates on the ballot.
All right Louisiana!!
Yep, this appears to be a good bill. Something I’ve hoped for there for years. With Louisiana’s “top two” process, serious independents on the local level do have more than a “fighting” chance to win office. When independent candidates find themselves in a “two way” race, they have a much getter chance of winning.
RICHARD IS THE FEE STILL 500 BIG ONES?
Clara Bell, you seem to indicate that “500 big ones” is not fair for requirments to get one’s name on the general election ballot in Lousiana. I wish we had that option in Alabama. The voters of Louisiana don’t know how fortunate they are politically speaking.
Under present Alabama law, if I wanted to run for Governor as an Independent, I’d have to gather some 45,000 legitimate signatures of registered voters – just to get my name on the ballot. It would take about $1 to collect each signature i.e. $45,000 to get on the ballot. And some people think $500 for a filing fee is too high? Get real.
Louisiana filing fees depend on which office one is running for.
Here’s a list of Louisiana’s filing fees:
http://www.sos.louisiana.gov/Portals/0/elections/pdf/FEES2010120209.pdf
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