On June 10, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed HB 2504. It makes it easier for a party to remain on the ballot. The old vote test was either 2% for Governor, or 5% for any statewide race. The new vote test is 2% for any statewide office at any of the last five elections. The bill has the effect of putting the Green Party on the ballot for 2020, because it polled over 2% for a few statewide races in 2016.
Unfortunately, the same bill imposes filing fees on the nominees of parties that nominate by convention, which includes all parties other than the Republican and Democratic Parties.
Major machination —
get TX Greens on ballot — to divide and conquer TX RED Donkey communists.
IE Clinton lost in 2016 in how many States due to Green votes ???
I’ve updated my original blog post on the bill and its background.
That said, Richard, there are petition alternatives (and less onerous than the party ballot access ones) that individual candidates can go through in lieu of filing fees.
https://socraticgadfly.blogspot.com/2019/05/a-win-for-texas-greens-it-seems.html
“IE Clinton lost in 2016 in how many States due to Green votes ???”
Zero. Exit polls showed that most Green voters wouldn’t have voted for President in a two-way race.
RE: ” filing fees on the nominees of parties that nominate by convention”
Richard,
You have mentioned that there are a number of legal decisions which would support a challenge to these laws (the “crowded ballot” argument) including for petitioned ballot access candidates. Can the legal minds who peruse your site put a plan together to challenge this nationwide? For example, have some sacrificial candidates around the country file but not pay the filing fees. Then, cases brought up in state court and appealed to federal court.
There is clearly A LOT OF MONEY being spent on filing fees by minor party candidates which could be better spent on promoting their campaigns.
How many New Age folks are LIARS regarding any New Age political poll
—ie merely matching the evil liars in public offices ???
JB
https://ballotpedia.org/Bullock_v._Carter
note the BP link at *ballot access*
—
Nom Petits / filing fees — limits in Const
PR and AppV
So we will make it easier for you minor parties to remain ballot qualified parties, but we will make it a lot more expensice for your candidates to be listed on the ballot by making them pay a ridiculously expensive and unnecessary filing fee, said the Texas legislature and Governor.
Will the Texas bill change ballot access requirements for presidential candidates from new parties to get on the ballot there?
No state requires the presidential nominees of qualified parties to pay a fee, to be on the general election ballot. So the filing fee part of the Texas bill has no impact on presidential candidates.
Ballot access stuff MUST in Consts — same reasons for
Elector definition, election dates, office terms, office qualifs, secret ballot
— to NOT have HACK machinations to RIG results — to get / stay in POWER.
—
The CRISIS is NOW —
monarch/oligarch TYRANT DICTATOR HACKS on the counter-attack from 1776.
A party qualifies for all offices or no offices. There is no such thing as a president-only party. Historically it has been easier to qualify a party, rather than an independent presidentisl candidate. This is no longer true due to heavy turnout in the 2018 gubernatorial election.
Filing fees are not ridiculously expensive, and the in lieu of petition requirements are reasonable.
Major party candidates pay the filing fee to their party, and much of primary expenses are for election expenses.
It would make more sense to have minor party candidates file with their party, and make the fee a maximum. For example, the filing fee for Texas House is $750. The Libertarian Party could set their fee to between 1% and 100% of that. Any fees would have to be spent for convention administration.
A Republican or Democrat candidate may be collecting signatures right now. The bill does not take effect until September. It is uncertain that a Libertarian nominee may circulate a petition until after he becomes the nominee.
Under current law, the presiding officer of a convention has 20 days to certfy to election officials who a party nominated (three separate deadlines depending on the office.
A nominee does not “file” anything. But now they would be expected to pay a filing fee or a petition. The bill does not set a deadline. For certain offices the certification and filing are with different officials. How does a county clerk know whether the fee was paid to the county judge? How does the county judge know what to do with filing fee?
It is unclear whether there will be a primary screenout for a petition. Any one can contribute the filing fee. If Debbie Democrat can give $750 to Larry Libertarian, why can’t she sign his petition?
A lawsuit should allege due process concerns because the SOS has failed to promulgate regulations and it is uncertain when or if regulation will be set.