Free and Equal Elections
Sounds simple enough. Elections should be free…or at least access to the electoral process should be…and all candidates should be treated equally.
Sadly, as articles posted here yesterday show, that is not always the case.
For many years the website Ballot Access News was the nation’s sole source of consistent and balanced news about election access and fairness. While that site remains the most complete and best documented source for such news, another effort has taken shape to bring even more attention to these issues so fundamental to our democratic process.
Free and Equal benefits from having Ballot Access News editor Richard Winger on their board, but they do provide additional information, which we will be sharing with you here at Green Party Watch. To read a few of their articles simply click on this article’s headline. In the meantime, do yourself and democracy a bit of a favor and subscribe to Ballot Access News’ print edition. It’s chock full of information, and exceptionally readable.
*Democrats, Republicans, Minor Parties, & Independents All Agree: The Top Two Primary is a Bad Idea*
One year from now, in June of 2010, the citizens of California will be asked to cast a vote on Senate Constitutional Amendment 4, also known as the California Top Two Primaries Act. The vote comes as a result of a back room deal earlier this year to end the deadlock on passing California’s new budget.
The amendment would institute a Washington state style “Top-Two” system, in which the top two vote getters in the primary are the only names to appear on the November ballot -even if that means only one political party is represented.
“… the biggest threat to the existence of minor parties in over 50
years.”-Richard Winger, Ballot Access News
Free and Equal Elections is vehemently opposed to the idea of the “Top Two” Primary. This ill-conceived system makes it virtually impossible for Independent and Third Party candidates to appear on the November ballot.
“Washington has tried top-two once now. In 2008, for the first time since Washington has been a state, no minor party or independent candidates appeared on the November ballot for either Congress or statewide state office,” said Richard Winger, publisher of Ballot Access News, and a
member of the Free & Equal Board of Directors. “The Top-Two Primary is the biggest threat to the existence of minor parties in over 50 years.”
Even the Democrats and Republicans are expected to come out in force against the Top Two Primary -but even this does not guarantee the measure’s defeat.
Well-funded groups, many of whom are well-meaning but misguided, will champion the Top Two Primary as a way to give voters more say in elections. Unfortunately, the Top Two Primary will mean even fewer choices, and, in a state like California, more often than not only one party will appear on the general election ballot.
The Top-Two Primary was defeated by the voters of Oregon this past election. In the year to come, Free & Equal Elections will work to coordinate with other like-minded organizations to ensure that the Top Two Primary is defeated in California as well.
Please, if you are able, make your donation to Free & Equal today. Help us reform restrictive ballot access laws across the country, and stop the spread of the Top Two Primary on the west coast.
Sacramento Bee Editorial on the Top Two Primary
Ron Paul Releases Statement of Support
Commends Free & Equal and Endorses Theresa Amato’s New Book Grand Illusion
Congressman Ron Paul, R-TX, has sent a statement of support for Free & Equal Elections, and an endorsement of Theresa Amato’s new book Grand Illusion. In the statement, Congressman Paul says that Americans “deserve a system where third parties can compete,” that he is “impressed by the work of the Free & Equal Elections Foundation,” and that Theresa Amato’s new book is “an
important contribution that anyone serious about ballot access reform should read.
The Full Statement:
Congressman Ron Paul
US House of Representatives
June 4, 2009
“Fair ballot access is a very important issue. On the surface, there seem to be substantial differences between Democrats and Republicans, but on the issues of greatest importance, there is little variance. Both parties have come to endorse policies that make America policeman of the world while eroding civil liberties at home, out of control deficit spending and inflationary monetary policy that places tremendous burden on working families.
“Our laws are stacked against any real third alternative in the two-party monopoly. By and large, candidates must conform to the system or have difficulty even getting on ballots. Americans deserve better, and across the country, people are waking up and working hard to remove unfair barriers. We deserve a system where third parties can compete, and Democrats and Republicans are held to their platforms and rhetoric. I am impressed by the work of the Free & Equal Elections Foundation, and commend them for their leadership on this issue.
“Theresa Amato has experienced the unfairness of our system like few others. Her new book “Grand Illusion” is an important contribution that anyone serious about ballot access reform should read. I thank Theresa for sharing her experiences with us and know her book will make a difference.
With resources like “Grand Illusion” and activism from groups like the Free & Equal Elections Foundation, I am optimistic that Americans can come together and reform our election laws. I look forward to watching the progress I hope we can all make together.”
Click Here to purchase a copy of Theresa Amato’s new book. ($25.00 + $5 Shipping) Donate $50 or More to Free & Equal, and receive a signed copy!
“Theresa Amato takes the biggest swing–not a jab, but a roundhouse punch–at America’s corrupt electoral system.” –Phil Donahue
“Until you have run, as I did, outside the two major parties, it is impossible to imagine the injustices of the two-party-tilted electoral process. Theresa Amato masterfully exposes the horrors faced by third-party and Independent candidates seeking the chance to compete and provide political choices for the American voter.” –John Anderson, former Independent presidential candidate and chair of the
Center for Voting and Democracy
As the national campaign manager for Ralph Nader’s historic runs for President in 2000 and 2004, Theresa Amato had a rare ringside role in two of the most hotly contested presidential elections this country has seen. In Grand Illusion, she gives us a witty, thoughtful critique of the American
electoral system, as well as a powerful argument for opening up the contest to competition.
Busting the national myth that “anyone can grow up and be President of the United States,” Amato shows how independent and third-party candidates face egregious structural barriers that prevent them from fully participating in the race or even getting their names on the ballot. In addition to waging effective voter campaigns, these candidates must simultaneously fend off preposterous numbers of legal challenges from the two major parties–during twelve weeks of Nader’s ‘04 run, as many as twenty-five lawsuits were filed in an effort to squash his campaign.
Amato makes a powerful case for specific federal reforms in the United States’ arcane system of ballot access laws, complex regulations, and partisan control of elections. Along the way, she also offers a spirited history of how third-party and Independent candidates have kept important
issues on the table in elections past and contribute to our political life as a society. Despite the dramatic run-up to the historic 2008 election and the efforts of both Obama and McCain to set themselves apart, the national political debate occurs in a very narrow range that’s defined by two major parties, which are both influenced by the same corporations, special interest groups, and
lobbyists. And on election day, there just aren’t the kinds of genuine options that a healthy, multi-party democracy should offer. Looking beyond the Nader story to campaigns waged by challengers John Anderson, Ross Perot, Pat Buchanan, and others, Amato shows how limiting ourselves to two candidates deprives our country of a robust political life, strips would-be
contenders of their First Amendment rights, and cheats voters out of meaningful political choice.
Does anyone else get the feeling that Theresa Amato is being groomed to take over for the Great Citizen Nader? I’m looking forward to reading her book.
I’m trying, perhaps without much success, to avoid commenting because I don’t want to become a focus here. I did, however, want to respond to St. Fu.
I love Ralph Nader. I love the Green Party and our values more. I don’t know Theresa at all but I assume she’s one of the good ones. Again however, I don’t get the impression that she has any interest in the Green Party. Therefore, should she be being groomed to follow in Nader’s footsteps, she’ll be doing that without an assist from me.
I am also looking forward to reading her book, and I am sure it will be enlightening. I also know that there is enough talent, passion and intelligence in the Green Party for us to make an impact that will dwarf past efforts to perfect our democracy. It will take a long time and constant, steady and honest pressure, but we must do this, for once you know, you know.
Thanks St. Fu for your comments. I always look forward to reading what you have to offer.
I agree, I”m sure that she isn’t Green Party.
Inheriting the Nader Cause without the history of having run for office as a Green will certainly place her in the category of those independent individuals whom Greens consider allies at least, such as Cindy Sheehan. Others like Medea Benjamin and Matt Gonzalez are in the same category but for their past campaigns as Green Candidates.