On April 26, the Oklahoma House passed SB 350, which eases the definition of “political party.” Existing law requires a party to poll 2.5% for the office at the top of the ballot, every two years. The bill changes that so it is a group that polls 2.5% for any statewide race, at either of the last two elections.
The bill is now through the legislature and goes to the Governor. The House vote was 77-3.
How does the “time, places and manner” clause of the U S Constitution authorize the states regulate First Amendment speech and association by defining which political parties are qualified to appear on the ballot which the states seized control to monopolize in the 1890s? Before the 1890s all parties were “ballot qualified” because the people owned and controlled the ballot. The states job was to conduct elections by collecting the ballots, securing them, making an honest tabulation and publishing the results. The states had no authority to censor or regulate campaigns. For the first century of the republic the TPM clause was not construed to allow state monopolization of ballots and censorship of candidates.
So the Oklahoma state government has loosened its grip of censorship slightly. Good, but not good enough.
Is that lower than the 5% required to retain ballot access in Tennessee?
Is that lower than the 5% required to retain ballot access in Tennessee?
Generally speaking, 2.5% is a lower percentage than 5%. If you are talking about raw votes, it is considerably lower since Oklahoma had only 3/5ths the total votes cast as Tennessee.
@DFR,
Sovereignty of the States is not derivative of the US Constitution, and the 1st Amendment did not originallt apply to the States.
14 Amdt, Sec. 1.
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the [Federal Govt] jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.
No State shall make or enforce any [State] law which shall abridge the [USA Const] privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States;
nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of [the State’s] law;
nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the [State’s] laws.
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Much too difficult for the armies of MORONS who never read the TWO (TWO) speeches in 1866 about the proposed 14th Amdt (after all sorts of civil rights stuff in Dec 1865-June 1866 related to the infamous *Black Codes* enacted in 1865-1866 in the ex-slave States have the ex-slaves have ZERO or minimal *civil* rights and ZERO *political* rights (voting, public officers).
See the USA 1866 Civil Rights Act about the former (having major constitutional doubts about it).
See 14 Amdt, Sec. 2 regarding the latter – for voting.
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NO State could violate the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States in USA laws and treaties — USA patents, USA copyrights, USA mail, land ownership via USA land offices, etc.
SCOTUS MORONS total screwup *incorporation* of most of USA Amdts 1-8 on the States via the DP clause but NOT via the PI clause.
14-1 first sentence —
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dred_Scott
NOT mentioned in the wiki —
After the DS opinion John Brown of Kansas would go to VA and do his raid in 1859.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_(abolitionist)
Various slave state oligarchs, private and public (esp slave State guvs) would collude/conspire for secession even more after the JB Raid — lit political fuse leading to actual lit fuse – first cannon shot fired at Ft. Sumter in SC in Apr 1861 >>> mass death and destruction to Apr 1865 >>> doom for slavery — 13-14-15 Amdts
About half way down — note USA Rep Thaddeus Stevens — to become the Leader of the Republican *Radicals* in the USA H Reps in 1861-1868 — NEMESIS DOOM for Slavery – 2nd only to Pres Lincoln — including Stevens major effort in 1865-1868 to get the 14th Amdt enacted — with him passing away shortly after the 14th Amdt was declared ratified in 1868.
Various other connections – Brown – Grant – Lee – Booth