Defending Democracy By Fighting Restrictive Ballot Access Laws For Third Parties

[DarinRobbins]

In 2020 the NY State Legislature, at the behest of then Governor Cuomo, passed legislation as a rider to the state budget--so it bypassed the usual period of public comment on legislation--tripling the number of signatures needed by independent parties to get on the NY State ballot (from 15,000 to 45,000) and raising the number of votes for its Gubernatorial candidate a party must register in order to maintain ballot status from 50,000 to a minimum of 130,000--or else 2 percent of the total vote whichever is greater. It also added a requirement that the same percentage of votes be achieved for the party's Presidential nominee in Presidential election years, meaning the vote totals must now be reached every two years rather than every four years as was the case with the previous requirement.

This makes the ballot access laws in NY State among the most restrictive in the USA. As a result the Green Party will be required to meet the 45,000 valid signature requirement in order to be on the state-wide ballot in 2022, even though the party achieved the legal requirement for maintaining ballot status for the next four years as a result of the 2018 Gubernatorial election--based on the rules in effect at that time.

This is nothing but a naked power-grab by the Democratic Party in NY State, a means of excluding the Green Party and others who have been able to achieve/maintain ballot status in the past. The Green Party and the Libertarian Party filed a joint lawsuit. The Working Families Party filed a different lawsuit raising other issues. So far all of the legal opinions by federal judges have upheld the new law. Additional appeals are pending.

You can, personally, strike a blow to defend democracy in NY State. If you are a Green Party member or voter then you have a direct interest in helping the party maintain (or regain) its ballot line. If you are not, but are simply a supporter of basic democratic rights, you also have an interest in responding to this undemocratic abuse by the Democrats in the NY State legislature. The Green Party is in urgent need of funds to help with both the lawsuit and a petitioning campaign that will begin in April. Just covering our court costs is a major burden on the party, and there is no way we can expect to meet the petitioning requirements without hiring paid petitioners.

Donations can be made by going to the Green Party Of New York website which contains the mailing address and instructions if you wish to donate by check.
Or you can text GreenFuture to 22525 for a link to the donation page.

Thanks in advance to everyone who responds to this appeal.

 

[T. A. Gardner]

Well, the Democrats are the party that loves voter suppression except when it benefits them not to have it...

 

[Walt]

tripling the number of signatures needed by independent parties to get on the NY State ballot (from 15,000 to 45,000) and raising the number of votes for its Gubernatorial candidate a party must register in order to maintain ballot status from 50,000 to a minimum of 130,000--or else 2 percent of the total vote whichever is greater.

This seems reasonable to me. 45k is about 0.5% of the vote. If a candidate cannot get at least half a percent of the voters to support him, should he even be on the ballot. We could have ballots with millions of candidates on it, but that would be unwieldy. Let's reduce it down to the candidates who have some support. Half a percent support would allow someone who has almost no support, but maybe some hope of gaining enough support to be on the ballot.

The old number was put into law when there were far fewer people voting.

 

[Nordberg]

If they cannot get 45,000 signatures, they are wasting their time and the government's money. The problem is not allowing 3rd parties into debates. That is where ideas are offered. That is a chance to sway voters.
We used to have equal time provisions in the news where parties could express their views after news stories. They were often informative. 3rd parties have been suppressed since Reagan killed the equal time. He made Fox possible. I wonder if the wealthy were thinking that far ahead?
PBS still has debates but the Dems and Repugs are not involved.

 

[DarinRobbins]

New York now has the most restrictive ballot access laws in the country. The petitioning period is one of the shortest, especially in regards to the higher number of signatures required. Other states use a filing fee, party registration, or votes in a preceding election for ballot access for candidates. Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, and Oregon use party registration to determine ballot status. Idaho, South Carolina, and Mississippi use the number of candidates running to measure ballot status. Not only are the new ballot access laws in New York the most restrictive in the country, but they are one of the most restrictive in the world. It takes 10 signatures to run as an independent for the British House of Commons, 2 signatures in India and New Zealand, 50 signatures in Australia, 100 signatures in Canada, and 200 signatures in Germany.

 

[Nordberg]

The system was set up to be a 2 party as a tacit agreement with Dems and Repubs. The League of women voters was spearheading it. They demand a 3rd party get a percentage of votes to appear on stage that is nearly impossible. Even if they get on ballots, they will not be heard. PBS will have debates with all the parties they can find.

 

[Yakuda]

If they cannot get 45,000 signatures, they are wasting their time and the government's money. The problem is not allowing 3rd parties into debates. That is where ideas are offered. That is a chance to sway voters.
We used to have equal time provisions in the news where parties could express their views after news stories. They were often informative. 3rd parties have been suppressed since Reagan killed the equal time. He made Fox possible. I wonder if the wealthy were thinking that far ahead?
PBS still has debates but the Dems and Repugs are not involved.

It's funny how you think you can justify voter suppression.

 

[Into the Night]

This seems reasonable to me.

So you favor suppressing the vote. Gotit.

45k is about 0.5% of the vote. If a candidate cannot get at least half a percent of the voters to support him, should he even be on the ballot.

Yes.

We could have ballots with millions of candidates on it, but that would be unwieldy.

Do you really think a million candidates are going to file and try to run for the same office??? You're hallucinating, dude. Obviously, you have trouble handling a sentence with more then three words in it too.

Let's reduce it down to the candidates who have some support. Half a percent support would allow someone who has almost no support, but maybe some hope of gaining enough support to be on the ballot.

Do you know what a primary is?

The old number was put into law when there were far fewer people voting.

There doesn't need to be ANY number.

 

[Into the Night]

If they cannot get 45,000 signatures, they are wasting their time and the government's money. The problem is not allowing 3rd parties into debates. That is where ideas are offered. That is a chance to sway voters.
We used to have equal time provisions in the news where parties could express their views after news stories. They were often informative. 3rd parties have been suppressed since Reagan killed the equal time. He made Fox possible. I wonder if the wealthy were thinking that far ahead?
PBS still has debates but the Dems and Repugs are not involved.

It is not the government's money. It is their time to waste.

 

[Into the Night]

The system was set up to be a 2 party as a tacit agreement with Dems and Repubs. The League of women voters was spearheading it. They demand a 3rd party get a percentage of votes to appear on stage that is nearly impossible. Even if they get on ballots, they will not be heard. PBS will have debates with all the parties they can find.

So you want to suppress voters by forcing them to vote only for government sanctioned parties. Gotit.