Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed plans to ask the legislature to revise Washington state procedures for ballot access for unqualified parties and independent candidates.

Currently, Washington state has a peculiar system that requires “conventions” of specified minimum numbers of voters in attendance, for independent candidates and the candidates of unqualified parties. These include 1,000 “attendees” for statewide office and down to 25 “attendees” for state legislature.

Since the state has always permitted outdoor “conventions”, in which anyone walking by who signs the roster is considered to be “attending”, this idea has long been rather silly. The Secretary of State proposes to give up the label “convention” and permit a straightforward petition. He proposes 1,000 signatures for statewide office, 500 for U.S. House, and 100 for state legislature and county office.

Unfortunately, he is also proposing to bring back the primary vote hurdle. Between 1978 and 2002, it wasn’t enough for independent candidates, and the candidates of unqualified parties, to show support at their own “conventions”. Such a showing of support only put them on the September primary ballot (except presidential candidates were exempt). Then they had to poll 1% in the September primary, as a condition of being on the November ballot. The September vote showing was held unconstitutional in 2004. A somewhat similar law was also struck down that year in Minnesota. Now Sam Reed proposes to bring it back, but with a smaller vote requirement (1,000 primary votes for statewide office, 500 for U.S. House, 100 for other partisan office).

On December 21, the President signed an executive order raising congressional pay from $165,200 to $168,800. Since filing fees in many states are calculated as a percentage of the salary of the office being sought, this will cause a 2% in filing fees for candidates for Congress in those states.

Earlier Congress passed a resolution saying that their pay raise won’t be effective until mid-February 2007. Otherwise it would have been effective January 1, 2007.

COFOE (the Coalition for Free & Open Elections) greatly appreciates the contributions it has received from some of you this year. COFOE helped pay for the ballot access cases that won in September 2006 in Ohio and Illinois, and your contributions made that possible.

Now, COFOE has paid $1,000 toward the printing of a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in the Washington state lawsuit over top-two primaries; and COFOE has paid $250 toward the fee for appealing Schaefer v Lamone to the 4th circuit. Schaefer v Lamone challenges the Maryland law on ballot order.

If COFOE had additional money at this time, it could also pay an attorney to do an amicus curiae brief in Wasson v Bradbury, the federal lawsuit against Oregon’s law making it illegal for voters to sign for an independent candidate and also vote in a partisan primary. Although the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Texas law in 1974, the Oregon law has some legal vulnerabilities that the Texas law did not. However, the plaintiff in Wasson v Bradbury has not yet made these points, and he may never do so. Therefore, an amicus curiae brief is badly needed.

If you are willing to contribute to COFOE for the Oregon brief, or just to help COFOE in general, please send any contributions to either Ballot Access News, PO Box 470296, San Francisco Ca 94147, or to COFOE’s treasurer, Alice Kelsey, 192 Lewis Rd., Northport NY 11768. Make the check out to COFOE.

Anyone who contributes at least $25 to COFOE gets a free subscription to Ballot Access News for a year.