Since 1999, parties may be ballot-qualified in Florida simply by showing the state that they are organized. However, in 2011 the legislature passed a bill that imposes stricter requirements for being organized. The Secretary of State has now ruled that many parties that were previously organized no longer meet the requirements. The number of qualified parties last autumn was 34, but currently there are 15.
Among the parties that are still active, but which don’t enjoy qualified status, are the Prohibition Party, the Socialist Party, and the Socialist Workers Party. At any time, however, these parties or any parties are free to re-file. The new rules are not intrinsically difficult, but they are very detailed and fussy. For example, the Prohibition Party filing was rejected for these reasons: (1) no provision was made for the party to raise and expend funds; (2) the filing says that Roberts Rules of Order “will be the basic guide”, but the filing was supposed to say that Roberts Rules of Order (or any other authority on procedure) will be the “governing guide for all meetings”; (3) the submission doesn’t explain how the party will fill a vacancy in its nominations for public office; (4) the submission says the posting of party meetings will be posted on the national party’s web page, but the law says notice of meetings must be on the state party’s web page; (5) the submission doesn’t say if the listed officers are “state officers” or “state executive committee officers”; (6) the submission doesn’t explain clearly who elects the officers of the state executive committee; (7) the submission doesn’t explain how the party will conduct campaigns.
The parties that are currently qualified are: Americans Elect, Constitution, Democratic, Ecology, Florida Pirate, Florida Whig, Green, Independence, Independent Party, Libertarian, Objectivist, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Reform, Republican, and Tea. The Conservative Party seems to be in limbo: it hasn’t made any filing under the new law, and the Secretary of State’s letters to the party have been returned by the post office, but the state seems to have retained the existence of the party because the party owes thousands of dollars in fines for not having made financial reports
How about BTP?
We’re electing a 1000-member team, and not supporting single-winner plurality or IRV elections. If you want to be one of 1000 working together, where it’s like Burger King (“have it your way”), we have elected a Queen and five Princesses because Roseanne Barr [Green Tea] wanted it that way, and so you’ll be able to write in your name to be one of the 1000 equals, where the president and vice president are #1 and #2, but 998 also have equal votes on decisions. Check out the sixty full Cabinet Ministers, 84 Deputy Cabinet Ministers, each electing twelve Directors and using ranked choice consensus voting at the following link. We’re for a team of equals for president, not for one winner: http://usparliament.org/cab-1.php
“and the Secretary of State’s letters to the party have been returned by the post office, but the state seems to have retained the existence of the party because the party owes thousands of dollars in fines for not having made financial reports”
Love this logic.
Again the Eu case —
1. PUBLIC nominations – PUBLIC laws
2. Private internal clubby party hack stuff — NONE of a regime’s business.
How about another Bush v. Gore type HAMMER opinion on the skulls of the FL regime MORONS ???
#1, I’m not sure why, but the Boston Tea Party disappeared from the Florida list of qualified parties months ago.
Will the ballots be bigger than a double bed bedsheet if ALL of the parties have candidates for ALL of the offices on the ballots ???
P.R. and nonpartisan App.V.
#6, most of these parties never run more than one or two candidates for any partisan office. The filing fees (except for President) are higher than the fees of any other state.
#5 The Boston Tea Party sent an official letter to the SOS disbanding the party on August 3, 2009.
# 7 How much of the election cost is paid for by the fees ???
Perhaps each State can balance its budget by having a highest bidder fee for ballot access ???
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Principles before PARTY, PERSONALITY or PROFIT with Deeds not Words! The Florida Whig Party