Why you should care
The Pennsylvania Ballot Access Coalition in seeking more choices for all of us on Election Day. Current Pennsylvania law makes it difficult for independent and minor party candidates to appear on the ballot — much more difficult than in most other states. The result is less political competition, less political dialog, and fewer choices to vote for in November. The current system is simply not fair and does a great disservice to the ideal of democracy and to the voters. What you can do about it.
The trainwreck of 2006
In 2006, independent and minor party candidates were required to collect over 67,000 valid signatures simply to get on the state-wide ballot in Pennsylvania on Election Day. Legally, Democratic and Republican candidates require no signatures to get on the state-wide ballot, and even the 2,000 signatures required for the Primary Day ballot are ridiculously smaller than the virtually impossible hurdle of 67,000.
The solution
Pennsylvania law needs to be changed by the State Legislature to lower the outrageous signature requirements. The Coalition has drafted a Voters' Choice Act and is seeking sponsorship of it in the General Assembly.
Third parties protest ballot signature requirement
The Intelligencer, January 12, 2006, By Alison Hawkes
HARRISBURG - Third party political candidates are complaining Pennsylvania law is making it almost impossible for them to get their names on ballots.
Especially this year, when third party candidates running for statewide offices need 34 times as many signatures as Democrats and Republicans to get on the November ballot.
"Bob Casey Jr. didn't defeat me. Rick Santorum didn't defeat me. The law defeated me," said Ken Krawchuk, a Libertarian Party member from Abington who said he's dropped out of the U.S. Senate race this year because of burdensome signature requirements.
Krawchuk and other third party candidates - including three would-be candidates for governor this year - spoke to the House State Government Committee Wednesday in the hopes of changing state law.
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