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.
Ballot Access Lawsuit Decision Flawed
A federal judge has ruled against a lawsuit that sought to overturn Pennsylvania's unfair ballot access law. National ballot access legal expert Richard Winger criticized Judge Jones' decision against fair ballot access as having serious flaws. Jones' contention that the State's concern about "ballot clutter" is legitimate has been repudiated by the experience of dozens of states throughout the country. Scholarly analysis has shown that a modest signature requirement of only 5,000 signatures is sufficient to prevent extreme numbers of candidates from appearing on the ballot. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has said in the past that "the ballot crowding argument is a phony." No wonder: common sense, real-world experience, and legal scholarship all support that opinion.
A lawyer for the plaintiffs indicated that the decision will be appealed.
The judge's controversial decision is here (892 KB PDF).
It is now more important than ever for Pennsylvania citizens to demand that their state representatives support the Voters' Choice Act.
Site last updated » March 4, 2008 «