On April 4, a subcommittee of the Iowa Senate amended a bill that had already passed the House, to add a provision making ballot access more difficult for independent candidates and the nominees of unqualified parties. Senator Roby Smith (R-Davenport) is responsible. The original bill, HF 692, had nothing to do with ballot access.
The amendment not only increases the number of signatures, but adds an unconstitutional county distribution requirement to petitions for statewide office and US House. Statewide petitions would need 4,000 (the existing law requires 1,500), with 200 signatures from each of ten counties. U.S. House petitions would need 2,000 signatures (the existing law requires 375 signatures), with 77 signatures from each of half the counties in the district.
State Senate petitions would rise from 100 to 200 signatures; State House petitions would rise from 50 to 100. Thanks to Joseph Howe for this news.
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Wow, there sure does seem to be a lot of attacks going on around the country in regard to ballot access for minor parties and independent candidates, as well as against initiatives and referendums.
Minority rule Gerrymander OLIGARCHS attacking Democracy nonstop —
zero new in politics for 6,000 plus years.
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PR and AppV
Ballot access laws are all prior censorship to deprive voters of choice. That’s what happens when the dominant parties are allowed to use the state to monopolize the ballot suppress competition as all state imposed monopolies do. The ballot should be the property of the voter and under each voter’s control. BTW, that was the law before 1888 when the confiscation of the private ballot began.
Andy, I agree. Seems like the last month the stories have been 90% negative….
RW can inform the list about how many minority rule gerrymander state legis basically meet only in odd numbered years — and let State guvs be lawless tyrants in even numbered years.