On January 18, Alaska State Senator Bill Wielechowski introduced SB 161. It eases the definition of a qualified party from a group with registration of 3% of the last vote cast, to exactly 5,000 registrants.
On January 18, Alaska State Senator Bill Wielechowski introduced SB 161. It eases the definition of a qualified party from a group with registration of 3% of the last vote cast, to exactly 5,000 registrants.
Richard:
If this bill becomes law, which parties would be returned to the Alaska ballot?
The Libertarian Party. Greens only have about 1,600 and Constitution 700. But it would be easier for them to qualify again with a 5,000-requirement. The current requirement is 10,821.
Under Alaska’s Top 4 reform, candidates affiliated with a political body may have that affiliation appear on the ballot.
Alaska should extend Top 4 to presidential elections, and require the same filing requirements as for Senator or US Representative.
Any quota or fee for having candidate names printed the state monopoly ballot is censorship. Only the all write-in general election ballot gives voters equal, unbiased access to any candidate they may choose. All Top any number is also ballot censorship. Every voter has an equal right to cast an effective ballot presenting their actual preferences, not merely choices selected by others.
BTW, you can’t crowd a write-in ballot and no vote is a frivolous vote for any candidate. The candidates of the Democratic and Republican parties have NO constitutional standing above any other party on any ballot in any election.
Alaska forces various minor parties to petition for president if they aren’t qualified parties. Even though the Libertarian Party got over 6% of the vote for president in 2016 in Alaska, the fact that it was not ballot-qualified after the 2018 election forced the party to do a petition to be on for president.
Amending my previous remarks: A censored ballot cast by arbitrarily “licensed” voters makes the ballot frivolous, not the voters nor the candidates who could not vote or receive votes.
@RW,
Alaska’s Top 4 is in statute. Statutes may be amended.
I suspect that the definition of a political party in 15.80.010(27) was simply to recognize that party’s no longer had nominees. Similar changes were made in the composition of APOC.
Here is suggested text:
(27) political party means an organized group of voters that represents a political program and has 100 or more registered voters.
My suggested included making qualification for the presidential ballot the same as for other federal officers (with modifications for designating VP and elector candidates.
@DFR,
How do we distinguish a vote for Frank Robinson the baseball player who played for the Tulsa Oilers, Frank Robinson the Norman tattoo artist, or Frank Robinson the acolyte of Mickey Edwards?
INDIVIDUAL candidates are nominated/elected — NOT ****parties***.
Much too difficult for moron lawyers and worse judges.