On July 15, Howie Hawkins, Green Party presidential nominee, sued Oklahoma over the $35,000 filing fee for president. The fee is only paid by presidential candidates who are not the nominees of a qualified party. There is a petition alternative to the filing fee, but it requires 35,592 signatures. Hawkins v Ziriax, w.d., 5:20cv-687.
No filing fee in Oklahoma exceeds $2,000, except for the presidential filing fee. The U.S. Supreme Court in Anderson v Celebrezze said states should not require more difficult ballot access requirements for independent presidential candidates, than for independent candidates for other office.
Green Party BA lawyers ANY better than LP BA lawyers [who often lose] ???
https://ballotpedia.org/Bullock_v._Carter
1972 SCOTUS
UNCONSTITUTIONAL IF filing fees ONLY.
Since petition option in OK land = NO case = court should impose sanctions on lawyer(s).
My guess is that he will lose this lawsuit.
I would think this would be a win for the GP but you just never know with these judges.
The current filing fee to get your name on the Presidential Primary ballot is $5,000. When the Legislature introduced the bill to add a fee alternative for Independent Presidential candidates, it was original $5,000, the same for primary candidates. This was amended to be $5,000 per presidential elector, so $35,000 currently with Oklahoma’s 7 Electors.That same bill was originally introduced to have a 5,000 signature petition, but that was amended to be the same as a new party petition. It was a reduction in signatures but not by much. Unrecognized parties can use the same petition/fee to get their candidate on the ballot with a party label, but without all the benefits of a recognized party.
Honestly, if the Legislature wants to keep the current filing fee and petition requirements, the least they could do is allow this as an option to forming a new party. If the unrecognized party’s candidate meets the same requirement to keep party status, they should automatically gain recognition.
Who cares?
We already know all third parties will lose.
No matter what they do.
Except if they do PLAS.
That is Duverger’s Law.
Where have all the nominees gone?
Long time passing.
Where have the nominees gone?
Long time ago.
Where have all the nominees gone?
Gone down to defeat, ev very one.
When will they ever learn?
When will they ev ev ever learn?
Except if they do TOP Six.
Full ballot access for the six significant parties which cover the entire political spectrum.
Centrist: democrat, republican, reform/Alliance.
Leftist/progressive: green.
rightist: Constitution, libertarian.
Polling would level out-level the playing field- to:
democrat 17%
republican 17%
green: 27%
constitution: 27%
libertarian: 13%
reform/alliance: x/unknown/variable%.
How can PLAS work with Dario Hunter when he’s Jewish? Doesn’t PLAS require both candidates be gentiles?
Automatic ballot access for the top 6 parties seems like a good idea. It would simply things. Does any State do this?
Edward Brown,
Thank you for this comment.
I do not know if any state does this. Maybe Richard knows.
I doubt it.
Another swing at Howie unfair nomination process in IPR comments by Gary Swing.
Why won’t you answer the question, jackass?
Hee Haw. Hee Haw.
Edward Brown, the closest thing is North Carolina’s law that says a party is qualified if its presidential nominee was on the ballot in at least 35 states in the last election.
Just to add to my comments above, a recognized party’s Presidential candidate need not pay any filing fee in Oklahoma nor circulate any petitions. There is no requirement that the recognized party’s candidate appear on that party’s primary ballot either. So it is quite possible that the candidate for recognized party never paid any fee whatsoever to get on the ballot, which is exactly the case with the Libertarian Party nominee.
The qualifications for President and Vice President and Presidential Elector do not include fees or petition quotas to appear on the state monopoly ballot because the states did not have a monopoly on ballot content when the Constitution was ratified.
Where is the Constitutional Amendment allowing the states to monopolize and censor the ballot to abridge voter choice?
Voter control of ballot content is a Ninth Amendment right that cannot be denied nor disparaged except by a fascist political mentality.
Sounds like could be a lawsuite dfr, have you tried filing that?