Some Michigan groups have examined the Cornel West independent petition and they say some of the signatures appear to be forged. See this story. The requirement is 12,000 and West submitted over 27,000.
Some Michigan groups have examined the Cornel West independent petition and they say some of the signatures appear to be forged. See this story. The requirement is 12,000 and West submitted over 27,000.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/26/politics/kfile-kamala-harris-praised-defund-the-police-movement-in-june-2020/index.html
HOW SOON BEFORE HACKS CHANGE FROM YES TO NO —
ON ALL SORTS OF STUFF
IE — HAVE NOOOO PRINCIPLES — EXCEPT TO STAY IN POWER.
How much did those 27,000 signatures cost them? Might it not have been better for both the state and the candidates if that money had been used as a filing fee for ballot access?
Or, if the candidates made up for invalid signatures with a compensatory fee for each invalid signature up to the 12,000 required signatures?
Is it not clear that the whole petitioning game has become a racket to selectively exclude some candidates, and not others?
Of course it’s an “organization linked to Democrats” again, including “Mark Brewer, former chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party”. Are they so scared that Cornel ‘communist white-genocide’ West will poach votes from an Kamala ‘Killary Hahaha’ Harris?
Michelle Obama endorsed Kamala Harris, which will put Michigan in the bag for her. Detroit blacks have tremendous love for the lovely Michelle, who is absolutely, positively not a transgender.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/07/26/allen-lichtman-preliminary-presidential-prediction-harris-trump/74557674007/
RIG THOSE *KEYS* TO GERRYMANDER WIN OR WHAT ???
Filing fees do not show public suppport. Anybody with money who is too lazy to go out and do the work to gather petition signatures can pay a filing fee. People should get off their lazy rear ends and engage with the public by gathering petition signatures.
ANY PUBLIC SUPPORT IF WANNABEE CANDIDATES ASK FOR DONATIONS TO PAY ANY FILING FEES ???
Andy knows full well that petition signatures rarely correspond with public support. He knows how dishonest many petitioners are and how stupid and apathetic much of the general public is. It’s rare for any candidate or party that is able and willing to spend enough to fail to make the ballot. It’s just as rare for any candidate or party to make the ballot if the campaign has little or no money, unless the signature requirements are very low.
Rare doesn’t mean never, which Andy will redundantly “disprove” with counterexamples in an autistic manner, but he knows full well that generally speaking I am correct.
In practice, the signatures become little more than a few, except with the added hoops of technicalities for which the petitions can be disqualified despite spending the money and even despite making every good faith effort to ensure having enough valid signatures. And Andy knows all of this is true better than most people.
@Walter, Andy, FP
Why reinvent the wheel? What does Britain do?
They only require 10 “subscribers” and 500 pounds for MP candidates.
President: Scale up
10 x 435 districts = 4,350
$500 x 435 = $217,000
I have no problem with that,except I do think a signature alternative should be available for those candidates/parties which genuinely do have more hardcore volunteers than money. In practice, that’s usually only the borglike Marxist cults, but it is what it is, everyone should have both options and make of them what they will, at least unless and until reviving viva voce voting becomes realistic. A combination signature/fee mix could also be an option.
Also, I see I wrote few where I meant fee in my prior comment, second paragraph, first sentence, if that wasn’t obvious from context to anyone.
Petition signatures are a better indicator of public support than are filing fees.
Interestly, the Libertarian Party has petitions for internal party offices.
@Andy,
Votes are a better indicator of public support than petition signatures.
Why do you have to show public support in order to be voted for? The USA got by for a 100+ years before qualifying to be qualified.
It is notoriously difficult to get on the ballot in my home state of Michigan. The SOS claims EVERY petition has forged signatures. James Craig being booted out of the 2022 Governor race was a bit of a controversy. Signature matching only seems to matter when it comes to petitions and not to the actual ballots.
Jim Riley is correct.