Nebraska State Senators John Nelson and Scott Lautenbaugh have introduced the Secretary of State’s omnibus election law bill, LB 449. Among other things, it restricts who can be an independent candidate. The bill says no one can be an independent candidate if he or she were registered as a member of a qualified party on March 1 of the election year. Also it makes it illegal for anyone to circulate an independent candidate petition earlier than December 15 of the year before the election.
The bill does not seem to affect independent presidential candidates, who have a separate section in the existing law. That separate section is not being amended. The bill has a hearing on February 16 in the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.
Separate is NOT equal — even in allegedly nonpartisan NE.
Brown v. Bd of Ed 1954
Each office is totally separate from every other office — regardless of ALL party hacks in ALL party hack regimes.
Richard. Did anyone ever hear what happened with the “Nebraska Party’s” attempt to change it name to the “Nebraska Independent Party?” The last I heard, the Secretary of State in Nebraska had rejected this change because of the word “independent.”
I really don’t know why they didn’t use the word “Inndependence” not “Independent” in their name changes and I feel the elections officials would have had less grounds to stand on.
Also isn’t an “independent” candidate listed on the Nebraska ballot as “By Petition?”
Yes, independent candidates in both Nebraska and South Carolina are on as “by petition” instead of “independent”.
The Nebraska Party went off the ballot in 2008 and is defunct. The Constitution Party will probably requalify in 2012 under the name “Constitution Party.”
Thanks Richard. If politically savvy folks in both Nebraska and South Carolina would organize respectively a “Nebraska Independence Party” and a “South Carolina Independence Party,” both of these parties would “blow” the Constitution Parties off the road.
Any *Secession Party* in any State [YET] — with the worse and worse econ insanity in Deficit City ???
South Carolina already has a ballot-qualified Independence Party. It is not very active.
Thank Richard. I knew there was a “South Carolina Independent Party” at one time which had permanent ballot position (apparently under an older law) but lost it because the party had not run any candidates in a number of election cycles.
How sad. In a state like Alabama, we’d given anything to had such a law. I just can’t understand some folks who claim they don’t like the major parties, but when they have a chance to have a ballot positioned party on the ballot, they ignore it.
As I’ve said before and I’ll keep saying it, “3rd partisans are their own worst enemies.”