Oklahomans for Ballot Access Reform is asking for donations to put an initiative on the November 2008 ballot. Contributions can be postally mailed to Oklahomans for Ballot Access Reform, PO Box 14042, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74159-1042.

Oklahoma law does not set any limit on who can contribute, or on how much can be contributed. The money will be used to get an initiative on the ballot that will ease the ballot access law for minor parties. Specifically, it will require 5,000 signatures for a new party. The vote test for a party to remain on the ballot will be 1% for any statewide race, at either of the last two elections. The vote test to remain on is based on Colorado and Wisconsin laws.

Existing Oklahoma laws require a petition of 5% of the last vote cast to get a new party on the ballot, and a 10% vote for the office at the top of the ticket for it to remain on (i.e., president in presidential election years, and governor in mid-term years). For 2008, the existing law requires 46,324 signatures to get a new party on.

Oklahomans for Ballot Access Reform includes independents, and members of the Oklahoma Libertarian, Green and Constitution Parties. Members of other parties are welcome as well. Oklahomans for Ballot Access Reform (OBAR) will hold another meeting on July 22 in Stroud, Oklahoma. The chair of OBAR is Matt Jones, MRJones@JMJCommunications.com.

An anonymous donor has pledged to donate $25,000 to the effort, if the committee can raise as much as $50,000 in the next two months. Signatures would probably be gathered in the period September-October-November 2007. The law requires that an initiative petition collect 74,117 valid signatures in any 90-day period.

Donors who give $50 or more will be sent a short form, required by Oklahoma law, that asks for name, address, occupation and employer or principal business activity, if any. No disclosure of this information is required until or unless the initiative is certified for the ballot.

On July 12, a federal lawsuit was filed against a New York state law that says if an independent voter changes his or her registration so as to join a ballot-qualified party, that change cannot be effective until the following year. The case is Van Allen v Cuomo, 1:07-cv-722, northern district.

Bill Van Allen re-registered on April 27, 2007, from independent, to being a member of the Independence Party. But New York state law, uniquely, won’t let him be considered a member of that party until 2008. Therefore, he can’t vote in the September 2007 Independence Party primary and he can’t circulate petitions to help members of that party get on the primary ballot. His lawsuit, if successful, would result in New Yorkers being permitted to join parties without the long waiting period.

The Green Party is holding a national meeting July 12-15 in Reading, Pennsylvania. Attendees in Reading will hear presentations on whether the 2008 national presidential convention should be in Minneapolis, Chicago or Detroit. A decision won’t be made until August 15, 2007. Several Green Party members who hold elective office in Minneapolis will be making the pitch for Minneapolis at the Reading meeting.

The Constitution Party will probably hold its national convention during the last week of April 2008 in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Libertarian Party had already previously chosen Denver, the last weekend of May 2008.

The major party conventions will be in Minneapolis (Republican) and Denver (Democratic).