On October 15, Allen Stevo asked the 7th circuit for rehearing en banc, in his case over the number of signatures needed for an independent candidate for U.S. House in Illinois. Stevo v Keith, 08-3218. Illinois requires exactly 5,000 signatures in some election years, but approximately twice as many in other election years. Even in the years when only 5,000 were required, no independent has ever qualified for U.S. House in Illinois. Not withstanding that, the original panel of the 7th circuit had upheld requiring him to get approximately 10,000 this year.
Meanwhile, a parallel case in state court on behalf of Dan Druck, a Libertarian candidate for U.S. House, lost in the State Court of Appeals, also on October 15. Furthermore, the State Court of Appeals panel added gratuitously that it has been a legal error all these years for Illinois to place candidates on the ballot who submit a number of signatures below the legal requirement, if such candidates are not challenged. This issue had nothing to do with the case, and surprised both sides. The Druck case will probably be appealed to the State Supreme Court. Illinois has traditionally put anyone on the ballot who submits even one signature, if no one challenges that petition.
With ruling after ruling against open and free elections in the courts…
With the adoption of the Communistic “top two” system that ends free elections and creates a one-party state…
With the crazies trying to install Banana Republic style direct election of the President, instead of our Constituionally brilliant Electoral College system of preserving Liberty…
With a Supreme Court that ALWAYS votes against free elections in recent years – specially with Stephen Breyer’s preselection guarantee to always work against free elections for 3rd parties…
Our chance to secure our Liberty by means of the Ballot Box is rapidly slipping away.
We have a short term window left to either win outright, a majority in Congress, the various State legislatures, Governorships and the White House or lose our Liberty in America completely for a long New Dark Age lasting hundreds of years.
The comment above is too pessimistic. This season’s election law rulings have included two victories for presidential substitution, and the New Hampshire case is a potential third win in the near future as well. In all past history, there had been only one winning lawsuit on presidential substitution, the 1996 Florida Libertarian case.
How did Louanner Peters, Geri Knoll McLauchlan, Rose-Marie Love, Joe M. Dillier, and Sheila A. Jones qualify for the ballot in 1992?
I live in IL, and I read that our ballot will ask whether we should hold a constitutional convention. Many people, of all parties, favor reforms, including fairer petition signature requirements for all parties, term limits, recall elections, and binding citizen referendums. The legislators won’t vote for these reforms, because these reforms would decrease the power of the legislators. If you know anyone who lives in IL, please ask them to vote for the constitutional convention.
We are taking the case to the Illinois State Supreme Court. The Appellate court’s brief was moronic, to say the least. Our judicial system is as much as sham as the rest of our “representative” government.
I’ve been fighting for Constitutional government for more than 20 years. Over that course of time, I have come to sadly realize (especially recently) that the only way Constitutional government will be returned to this nation will be at the barrels of Patriots’ guns. But that won’t happen because the number of benefactors of socialism / communism has dramatically grown in America… putting Americans loyal to the Constitution into the vast minority. And of those loyal Americans, most don’t have enough backbone and commitment to their country to carry a Ron Paul sign, let alone take up arms against the tyrants who have enslaved them.
I know… that sounds pretty pessimistic. But I’m only being a realist. I’ll continue to fight the battle within the confines of the sham system. To do less would be unAmerican. But by speaking the truth, perhaps enough people will finally wake up, get off their asses and prove me wrong.
With no apologies,
Dan Druck
Former candidate for congress blocked from the ballot by an overtly corrupt system.