On November 12, the Tennessee Libertarian Party filed this opening brief in the Sixth Circuit in Lewis v Hargett, 24-5856. This is the case that challenges the Tennessee petition requirement for groups to qualify as a party. The law is so severe, no one has complied with it since 1968. It requires 56,083 signatures.
Because the petition for a party is so difficult, minor parties always run their nominees using the independent candidate procedure. But then they don’t have their party name on the ballot next to their nominees. This causes voter confusion, because the label “independent” is incorrect, and doesn’t give the voter any guidance about the actual party name. The U.S. Supreme Court has long recognized that voter confusion is an evil.
WHAT CENTURY WILL 1954 BROWN V BD OF ED GET NOTED IN A SCOTUS BALLOT ACCESS CASE ???
I AM GOING TO POST THIS OVER AND OVER EVEN THOUGH EVERYONE HAS TOLD ME I AM WRONG
I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT LAW
I AM A RETARD WITH NO FRIENDS AND NO LIFE
Didn’t an attorney for the LP of Tennessee urge them to gather a few thousand signatures on a party status petition in order for them to have standing and to be able to show a judge that they were making an effort to gain party status? What happened with this? I seriously doubt they collected a few thousand petition signatures this quickly after the election.
Didn’t the No Labels Party successfully complete the party status petition in Tennessee for this election? I know they did not run any camsidates but I thought they completed the petition there.
The brief says that about 43,000 signatures are required.
Tennessee has 95 counties. 58 of those counties have a total population, including immigrants and children, of less than 43,000.
Tennessee requires more valid petition signatures from registered voters than the total population of each of over half of its counties. Please tell me how recognizing a political party is somehow more significant than recognizing a county government!
A party could alter the outcome of elections in every county of the state.
Thanks Helpful Guy.
A party, especially a minor party, does not single-handedly alter the outcome of statewide elections. There are many other factors such as demographics, current events, and the major candidates’ campaigns. For downballot races, only one, part of one, or a few counties are affected at a time.
Meanwhile, counties in various states often collect taxes, have a police force, operate roads, buildings, and other facilities, own significant amounts of land, assess property, make and enforce laws, have courts, etc. For each elected official in a county government, there are surely several government employees.
Counties don’t change much outside their county. Parties can change the politics of the whole state if they swing a close election.
Is there some unwritten, or written, law that parties, including minor/third/alternative parties, aren’t allowed to change the politics of the whole state?
No. It just explains why they might want that many people as opposed to breaking off a county, which was the actual question.