Alabama is almost certain to be the only state with no independent or minor party candidates on the ballot this year, for any federal or state office other than president. On July 18, an independent candidate for Governor of North Dakota began circulating his petition. North Dakota had been the only other state in which it was possible that there would be no minor party or independent candidates, but it now seems very likely that North Dakota will have DuWayne Hendrickson on the ballot as an independent for Governor, along with his running mate, Dana Brandenberg, for Lieutenant Governor. They only need 1,000 signatures, and the signatures are not due until September 5. Thanks to IndependentPoliticalReport for the news about Hendrickson.
Andy Shugart is expected to file a lawsuit on July 30 against the number of signatures needed for an independent candidate to get on the ballot for U.S. House from Alabama’s 6th district. Alabama is the only state which requires an independent candidate for U.S. House to obtain more signatures than an independent candidate for president. In 1979 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Illinois State Board of Elections v Socialist Workers Party that it is unconstitutional for a state to require more signatures for a candidate running for an office that covers just part of the state, than that same state requires for an independent candidate running for statewide office. Alabama requires 5,000 signatures for an independent presidential candidate, but requires an independent in the 6th district to submit 6,155 signatures.
Darryl W. Perry told me on my show that it would have taken tens of thousands of signatures to get on the ballot for U.S. Senate in Alabama. For some reason it is significantly more than the requirements for presidential candidates. He is still running as a write-in candidate for U.S. Senate in Alabama with the endorsement of the Alabama Statesmen and the Boston Tea Party.
From the Alabama SOS
“INDEPENDENT CANDIDACY
Those not qualifying through a political party may obtain ballot access by submitting a petition to the secretary of state, if seeking a state or federal office, or to the probate judge if the office is local. The petition must be filed no later than the date of the primary, June 3, 2008. There is no qualifying fee….A petition for statewide ballot access in the 2008 election year must have at least 37,513 verified signatures of registered voters.”
The Libertarian party of Alabama is working on collecting the signatures required to get Bob Barr on the ballot. As of a couple weeks ago they had 1,000 out of the 5,000 required. You can get more info here: http://www.al.lp.org/
Bob Barr will be on the ballot as an Independent candidate. Ballot Access News is way off on this one. Barr promoters are collecting about 1,000 signatures a week on top of what they already have collected and the deadline is not until September.
Also I, along with a paid Barr staffer, were stopped at the Tuscaloosa Library the other day and asked to sign a petition for Barr and the same petitioners were collecting sigs for Chuck Baldwin and Ralph Nader.
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rocky
Alabama Drug Treatment