Chris Powell, a Libertarian Party activist in Oklahoma, has this article explaining the damage top-two systems do to minor parties and the voters who want to vote for minor party candidates. The article is published by the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs.
An initiative petition for a top-two system is currently circulating in Oklahoma.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgmd132ge4o
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Why not just rename the whole site “spambot posts endless BULLSHIT about imaginary tyrant”? Because pretty soon at this rate that will be 100% of the comments here.
Excellent article by Chris Powell. I commend him for his efforts. Thanks to the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs for publishing it.
It’s good for independent voters who want to be able to vote for some candidates in one party’s primary and some in another’s. Of course, standing count or voice vote by party is another way to go.
Candidate Licensing is Voter Censorship
Ballot access laws are licensing laws. The fees to obtain a license to receive votes are very high. There are the direct fees which candidates must pay and the indirect, but even higher fees running into millions, to obtain petition signatures to put candidates names on the ballot. Some candidates pay much lower fees or no fee at all because they align with the two state sponsored parties who set fees for all competitors. If the ballot were a commercial product the two state sponsored parties would be subject to anti-trust laws, but of course the ballot is not a commercial product, it is the product of a government monopoly and exempt from market competition.
This has not always been the case. Before the adoption of ballot access laws in the late 19th century the voter could produce their own ballot or freely chose to a ballot printed by other voters. It is possible for the government to print a monopoly ballot that is uncensored – no fees direct or indirect. That ballot is a content neutral write-in only ballot that restores free choice to voters and candidates. I call this ballot format the Liberty Ballot. So far I have not found any precedent for this ballot. Yes, in some states the voter may still write-in a candidate, but in some states even that option is prohibited, an example is the state of Oklahoma. I
f I had counsel and the means to pay all legal fees to conduct a federal lawsuit on several grounds against Oklahoma I would bring suit. As I have done previously, I intend to submit documents to be a candidate for the U S House of Representatives for the 2026 election. This is necessary to preserve “standing” to bring suit.
No citizen who meets the Constitutional qualifications to hold office, as I do, should have to buy a license from the state to be elected or even seek election. Why are people willing to pay millions for ballot licenses, but resist paying hundreds of thousands to abolish candidate licensing? How is this a difficult concept to grasp?
It suffers from still being a ballot. Most young people are barely if at all learning their ABCs anymore. The trend is accelerating. Very soon, the percentage of the population that can read and write will be back to medieval European levels – well before the end of this century. We need to be proactive and stop limiting voting only to the shrinking literate minority.
I don’t know a lot of them word’s but it sound good 2 me son. Hells yeah!
Ballots are outdated. Stand up and be proud and vote out loud! Bring back viva voce voting and bring back public hanging!