Former Governor Jesse Ventura (who was elected in 1998 in Minnesota on the Reform Party ticket) has just issued this statement:

“Dear California Voters, I hope California voters defeat Prop. 62 on November 2. This proposition would mandate that all candidates including independents and third party candidates run on the same primary ballot in June with Republicans and Democrats and then only the top two vote-getters would appear on the November ballot.

“In Minnesota, September 1998, I only received 3% of the open primary vote in the race for Governor. Despite these numbers I went on to win the general election in November. Under Prop. 62…I would have been excluded from the general election in November and never would have been able to serve as Governor of Minnesota.

“It is no surprise to me that big money is behind Prop. 62, and its efforts eliminate real choice for the voters in upcoming California elections. I strongly urge California voters to defeat Prop. 62.”

A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that it would not grant presidential candidate Ralph Nader an injunction to block a lower court’s order that removed him from the Ohio ballot.

Nader still has a chance to get on the ballot via his case before the Ohio Supreme Court.

The world has always learned from America’s example. These days we are not setting a very good one.

Now Putin is learning from the US! The Kremlin has announced a new crackdown on small parties. Currently, parties must get 100 people to sign up as members in each of half of Russia’s 89 regions. Under the new proposal, parties will be required to sign up 250 members in every single region, and 500 members in each of half the regions. In addition, they will be required to sign up 50,000 members nationwide.

This is another of Putin’s new anti-Democratic moves, following his moves to make Governors and Judges appointed instead of elected.

~ Eric Garris, Ballot Access News Webmaster