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New Hampshire Ballot Access Bills Survive Committee but are Delayed

Posted on February 22, 2011 by adminFebruary 22, 2011

On February 22, the New Hampshire House Election Law Committee voted to retain the two ballot access bills, HB 152 and HB 153. This means that they will receive another hearing to iron out some perceived problems. If the Committee had wished not to take any more action on these bills, the Committee would have labeled them “Inexpedient to Pass” and they would have been dead.

The bills ease ballot access for independent candidates and for new and minor parties. New Hampshire is the only New England state that has no qualified parties other than the Democratic and Republican Parties. New Hampshire has not had any ballot-qualified parties other than the Democratic and Republican Parties since November 1996. The only other states about which this statement is true are New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. Tennessee’s definition of political party was declared unconstitutional last year and has not yet been replaced. Thanks to Rich Tomasso for the news about the New Hampshire bills.

Maryland Bill, to Raise Filing Fees, is Defeated

Posted on February 22, 2011 by adminFebruary 22, 2011

On February 21, the Maryland House Ways and Means Committee filed an unfavorable report on HB 2. This is the bill to raise Maryland’s candidate filing fees. Currently, the highest fees are $290.

Kentucky Senate Passes Bill to Study Electing Public Service Commissioners

Posted on February 22, 2011 by adminFebruary 22, 2011

On February 18, the Kentucky Senate passed SB 151, after amending it. The original bill provided for partisan elections in even-numbered years to elect the Kentucky Public Service Commissioners. The Senate amended the bill to provide that the idea should be studied by the Legislative Research Commission.

Illinois Ballot Access Reform Bill Introduced

Posted on February 22, 2011 by adminFebruary 22, 2011

On February 22, Illinois Representative Jim Watson (R-Jacksonville) introduced HB 2854. It eliminates mandatory petitioning for candidates who pay a filing fee of 1% of that office’s annual salary. It applies to all candidates, whether they are running in a partisan primary, or whether they are independent candidates, or the nominees of unqualified parties. Thanks to Christina Tobin for this news.

Currently, the only states that allow all candidates to use a filing fee instead of a petition to get on any ballot are Louisiana, Florida, and Oklahoma (and in those latter two states, independent presidential candidates can’t choose the filing fee option). However, a majority of states now make it possible for candidates to get on a partisan primary ballot with no petition, if they pay a filing fee.

Transcript Available for February 15 Debate "The Two-Party System is Making America Ungovernable"

Posted on February 22, 2011 by adminFebruary 22, 2011

Thanks to IndependentPoliticalReport for this link to the transcript of the February 15 debate in New York city, “The two-party system is making America Ungovernable”. Debating the affirmative were David Brooks and Arianna Huffington. Debating the negative were Zev Chafets and P. J. O’Rourke.

None of the debaters mentioned ballot access laws. Zev Chafets, who is based in Israel, seems unaware of any ballot access problem in the United States. On page 38 he says, “Anybody can join a party in this country. Anybody could run for office in this country.” The truth is, in Georgia, if one is not a Republican or a Democrat, one cannot run for U.S. House of Representatives in a regularly-scheduled election. Many have tried to get on the ballot, all have failed, since the law was toughened in 1964.