In a post last year, I reported that Illinois House Bill 4488 (HB4488) moved the general election petition deadline from late June to late May AND shortened to petition period from 90 days to 60 days. The deadline change to late May was correct, but the petition period shortening was incorrect. It remained at 90 days, so the petition period will start in late February, not late March.
However, this is still a significant blow to the ballot access prospects of independent and minor party candidates in Illinois. The first four weeks of the petitioning period will now literally be during the winter season. And, I can personally attest to how winterlike early Spring can be in Illinois.
Possibly more importantly, most farmers markets and festivals, which are frequently good petitioning locations, don’t open until June in Illinois, largely eliminating that source of signatures for potential candidates.
It is possible litigation will be forthcoming from parties harmed by this legislation.
For lack of an open thread:
Can the US Senate expel Mitch McConnell? If yes, what are the chances that they will?
What about Kentucky legislature or voters – would it violate the federal constitution for them to have a method to recall US Senator’s? If not, would it violate there state constitution? And if the answers to both are no, do they have such a procedure?
In Kentucky, the Governor chooses a Senator from the current party if there is a vacancy. Beshear is a communist, so he would choose the biggest RINO possible.
And still alternative parties like the Libertarian Party refuse to advocate for the abolition of all ballot access laws even though they are censorship of the voters’ freedom to choose government officeholders.
Henry, that’s unfortunate. Would it violate the state or federal constitutions if Kentucky changed its US Senator replacement procedure to include a recall vote by the people or by the legislature together with concurrently choosing a replacement if the recall passes?
For example, in California the Lieutenant Governor replaces the Governor normally if there is a vacancy, but in a recall election the ballot has a question as to whether the Governor ought to be recalled followed by another question asking the voters to choose from a list of replacement candidates in case the first question is approved (or governor’s retention unapproved – I forget. I lived there during the Gray recall but not during the Newsom recall)..
It would be better if the bill number was 1488 instead of 4488!
White Power is awesome, White Power is great, raise your right hand! 14/88!
1-5-2 2/3 to expel
nooo recalls [yet] for congress hacks
since congress terms are in usa const — state hacks can not change them
ILL —
more 14-1 amdt EP cl violations ???
separate is NOT equal 1954 brown v bd of ed
There is only one precedent, from Idaho state court, on whether the Constitution permits members of Congress to be recalled. The court concluded that state recall procedures cannot apply to members of Congress. The case was in the 1970’s and involved Idaho voters who wanted to recall Frank Church.
Thanks, Richard. I’m left only wondering what the chances are that the Senate will expel McConnell. I’m guessing low, since they didn’t expel Feinstein. When was the last time they booted an obviously no longer mentally competent Senator who lacked even the minimum mental competence to resign?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_senators_expelled_or_censured
Wikipedia is a woke joke, not a reliable news source.
Cold weather makes it more difficult to gather petition signatures. This is a bad bill.
one voter petitions – offices / issues