Ballot Laws Muffle As McLean County Libertarians Try to Make Some Noise | Peoria Public Radio - Ryan Denham, WGLT:
October 10, 2017 - "When you’re running for elected office, you need to get people to sign your nominating petitions to get on the ballot. It can be a slog, with every waking moment pestering shoppers leaving grocery stores or asking your neighbors for their John Hancock.
"For Christopher Howick of Bloomington, it’s even worse. Howick is running for the Illinois House in 2018, the seat currently held by state Rep. Keith Sommer, R-Morton. But because Howick is a Libertarian — not a legally established party statewide — he must collect a minimum of 2,500 signatures to get on the ballot, five times as many as Sommer and Democratic challenger Jill Blair....
"The issue of ballot access has new urgency in McLean County, as local Libertarians try to make some noise and inroads against the two-party system. Libertarians ... like Howick are making runs for McLean County Board and the Illinois House. It’s a similar story statewide, with three Libertarians mounting runs for governor....
"Libertarians cheered last month after winning an appellate court victory on the so-called 'full slate requirement.' That rule, which was invalidated by a lower court, required lesser-known political parties to mount candidates for all offices in the area where they want to compete — something that even Democrats and Republicans can rarely do. An appellate court upheld the previous ruling....
"Illinois tends to be 'very hostile' to the so-called 'minor' parties — anything other than a Democrat or Republican — according to Kerri Milita, an assistant professor in the Department of Politics and Government at Illinois State University.
"'It’s one of the more restrictive states in the country for how tough they make it for non-major parties to get on the ballot,' said Milita, an expert in direct democracy and election laws.... 'The real reason (for the higher signature requirements) is to protect their duopoly,' Milita said of Democrats and Republicans.
The question then becomes, how high do you set the bar for signatures? After all, Howick’s minimum of 2,500 signatures is really more like 5,000, to protect himself in case his political opponents successfully challenge any of his signatures. It’s a buffer.
"For a Libertarian to successfully get on the ballot statewide to run for governor, he or she would need to collect 25,000 signatures. Republicans and Democrats only need 5,000."
Read more: http://peoriapublicradio.org/post/ballot-laws-muffle-mclean-county-libertarians-try-make-some-noise#stream/0
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October 10, 2017 - "When you’re running for elected office, you need to get people to sign your nominating petitions to get on the ballot. It can be a slog, with every waking moment pestering shoppers leaving grocery stores or asking your neighbors for their John Hancock.
"For Christopher Howick of Bloomington, it’s even worse. Howick is running for the Illinois House in 2018, the seat currently held by state Rep. Keith Sommer, R-Morton. But because Howick is a Libertarian — not a legally established party statewide — he must collect a minimum of 2,500 signatures to get on the ballot, five times as many as Sommer and Democratic challenger Jill Blair....
"The issue of ballot access has new urgency in McLean County, as local Libertarians try to make some noise and inroads against the two-party system. Libertarians ... like Howick are making runs for McLean County Board and the Illinois House. It’s a similar story statewide, with three Libertarians mounting runs for governor....
"Libertarians cheered last month after winning an appellate court victory on the so-called 'full slate requirement.' That rule, which was invalidated by a lower court, required lesser-known political parties to mount candidates for all offices in the area where they want to compete — something that even Democrats and Republicans can rarely do. An appellate court upheld the previous ruling....
"Illinois tends to be 'very hostile' to the so-called 'minor' parties — anything other than a Democrat or Republican — according to Kerri Milita, an assistant professor in the Department of Politics and Government at Illinois State University.
"'It’s one of the more restrictive states in the country for how tough they make it for non-major parties to get on the ballot,' said Milita, an expert in direct democracy and election laws.... 'The real reason (for the higher signature requirements) is to protect their duopoly,' Milita said of Democrats and Republicans.
The question then becomes, how high do you set the bar for signatures? After all, Howick’s minimum of 2,500 signatures is really more like 5,000, to protect himself in case his political opponents successfully challenge any of his signatures. It’s a buffer.
"For a Libertarian to successfully get on the ballot statewide to run for governor, he or she would need to collect 25,000 signatures. Republicans and Democrats only need 5,000."
Read more: http://peoriapublicradio.org/post/ballot-laws-muffle-mclean-county-libertarians-try-make-some-noise#stream/0
'via Blog this'
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