On August 4, the Moderate Party submitted its petition to become a qualified party. See this story. The party turned in almost 34,000 signatures, to meet a requirement of 23,589. Assuming the petition is valid, this will be the first time any group has become a qualified party in Rhode Island via the petition method. The petition procedure to create a new party has only existed since 1994.

In the past, groups became qualified parties by the alternate method of running a candidate for Governor or President under the independent procedures, using a party label, and if that candidate polled 5%, the group became a qualified party. This is the method used by the Green Party (Ralph Nader polled over 5% in 2000), which enjoyed qualified status through the 2004 election.

On August 3, Fairvote Blog published this review of Theresa Amato’s book, “Grand Illusion: the Myth of Voter Choice in a 2-Party Tyranny.”

Free & Equal holds a press conference in Chicago on Monday, August 3, at 1 p.m, to ask Illinois Governor Pat Quinn to veto HB 723. The event is at 407 S. Dearborn Street, suite 1170.

HB 723 restricts the ability of qualified parties to nominate someone by party meeting, after the primary is over. Illinois typically has one-candidate elections in November for half the state legislative seats, and HB 723 will make this lack of choice even worse. The bill does not eliminate the ability of ballot-qualified parties to nominate someone after the primary, but imposes petitions on such nominees.

Illinois Governors have the ability to use an “amendatory veto” as well as to simply veto or sign a bill. See this Chicago Tribune article of August 2, which explains that Governor Quinn is being pressured to rewrite another election law bill, one concerning campaign contribution limits. The Governor must act on HB 723 no later than August 26.