On February 4, the Arkansas House unanimously passed HB 1338, which increases the number of signatures for independent presidential candidates from 1,000 to 5,000 signatures. The bill also increases the bill for presidential status for unqualified parties from 1,000 to 5,000. The bill now goes to the State Senate.
Dumb. Was Arkansas burdened with overcrowded ballots?
Just following do or die command orders from DNC/RNC HQ in Devil City.
Scared badly by Ricky Dale Harrington getting 33.5% against Tom “Pencil Neck” Cotton.
The Cotton race would not have been changed if this bill had already been law by then. The issue was 13 presidential candidates on the ballot. The legislature was confused by having too many choices. They would probably have a very difficult time navigating a supermarket or a restaurant menu. Luckily they have personal aides to help them with those kinds of things.
The Rocky Dale Harrington vote total had nothing to do with this. Harrington ran as a Libertarian, and the LP did the party status petition in AR, which is 10,000 valid signatures. The legislature did try to raise the party status petition to 26,000 and something signatures, but the LP beat them in court and kept it at 10,000.
Should say Ricky Dale Harrington above.
Well, OK, maybe this bill had nothing to do with Harrington. The bill’s author did claim “many” people were confused by 13 candidates, probably meaning herself.
I am going to guess that her husband sends her (or more likely the maid) to the grocery store with a shopping list and decides what she’s having at restaurants. Her husband has probably made all her decisions ever since he bought her from her father, who always made them until that point. So, it’s easy to see how she could get confused and forget she was supposed to vote for Trump. Maybe she voted for the Constitution or Life and Liberty party by mistake. Likewise, many other Arkansas were equally befuddled, which is why the presidential election was so maddeningly close in Arkansas this time.
Like in a one party state.
I don’t think too many people were confused but there’s no point in joke parties that have absolutely no chance to win cluttering up the ballot. This is sensible common sense legislation and soon to be law.
I’m aware of very few “joke” parties, and I certainly don’t know of any that were on Arkansas’ ballot. The idea that they have “no chance to win,” which is obviously false as they could conceivably win were they to get enough votes, just seems an excuse to restrict choice and the freedom to vote for the candidate that best fits your values.
I wish that every ballot across the county looked like Colorado’s – that is what freedom looks like. Not restricting the ballot to two parties simply because you think it looks “cluttered” otherwise.
The joke may be unintended but a joke regardless. The streaker at the superbowl had a better chance of scoring a touchdown than they do of getting electoral votes. He even got closer to the Bucs endzone than any Chief in possession of the football. Presidential elections in Arkansas aren’t exactly close, so I don’t see what harm they cause. A streaker on the field, or a dozen of them, may be just the thing in a yawn inducing blowout.
The right to vote has to include voter choice. Elections should be free and fair.
People who want to travel outside the country are required to have passports. Back when I used to travel outside the country that didn’t include Mexico, Canada and many Caribbean islands. I have read that it now includes them too. The proposal here, unless I misunderstood, would extend the passport mandate to anyone who would want to vote in federal elections in any state. If that’s correct, the only people who would not be required to have a passport would be those who never leave the country and never vote (unless it’s only on state and local elections when there are no congressional or presidential candidates on the ballot). Since most people would then have passports, they would probably be extended to a multitude of other uses as drivers licenses have been.
Sorry, wrong thread.
5000 is not bad compared to some other states.
Agreed, it’s a very reasonable minimal threshold.
For six electoral votes 2,500 might be a reasonable number (500 per CD plus 500).