On December 30, 2010, Virginia filed this response brief in Libertarian Party of Virginia v Virginia State Board of Elections, the case pending in the 4th circuit over the requirement that only residents of a U.S. House district may circulate petitions for a candidate running in that district. Although the brief includes 23 pages of argument, it does not say what the state interest is in having this restriction. It merely asserts that the restriction is a ballot access restriction. But any discussion of the purpose of the restriction is missing.
The evidence in this case already shows that Virginia has never had more than 6 candidates on the general election ballot for U.S. House (in a regularly-scheduled election), even in the period 1896-1936 when independent and minor party candidates for U.S. House needed no signatures and no fee in order to get on the ballot. So, one reads the brief and wonders why does the state need to enforce a law that says a circulator can’t work if he or she doesn’t live in that district?
You ask why? Likely only because the titanic parties do whatever they can to impose more restrictions on indie and third party activity.
We have been fortunate here in Virginia to have had just enough allies in the Virginia Senate to stop some of the expanded restrictions that the House passed in recent years. Only a few days away from seeing what they are cooking up for this session. Especially since we succeeded in having a third candidate in 10 of 11 congressional districts in 2010.
Before 1936 there was some idea-concept that the the States in the *United* States of America were independent and sovereign – i.e. nation-states.
Total ROT since then — as if the States mean about zero — due to the EVIL stuff in 1929-1936 — about impossible to understand for armies of New Age brain dead ignorant MORON folks.