A couple of points: That new bill in congress that everyone is raving about
has, in fact, features to make it more difficult for third parties to exist.
Second: If people look closely at the Green Party these days, I think they'll
see that it's inaccurate to define it as a pro capitalist party. Even Ralph
Nader, its founder, a rather old fashioned guy, interviewed by Bob Scheer on
the current episode of Scheer Intelligence, is talking about how corporations
should be converted into workers' cooperatives. He kind of sounded like Richard
Wolff.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Roger Loran Bailey
(Redacted sender "rogerbailey81" for DMARC)
Sent: Saturday, March 20, 2021 12:31 PM
To: blind-democracy <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [blind-democracy] US rulers step up attack on right to be on ballot
US rulers step up attack on right to be on ballot
https://themilitant.com/2021/03/20/us-rulers-step-up-attack-on-right-to-be-on-ballot/
BY BRIAN WILLIAMS
Vol. 85/No. 12
March 29, 2021
The capitalist rulers and their Democratic and Republican parties have been
stepping up attacks on ballot access for the Socialist Workers Party, and other
independent political candidates. This effort is bipartisan, as millions of
workers and farmers, facing worsening working and living conditions and seeing
no serious answers coming from the two parties of the bosses, are looking for
new political answers.
State legislators, backed by court rulings, have been imposing increasingly
onerous ballot requirements — upping the number of signatures that must be
gathered on petitions and pushing deadlines for meeting filing requirements
further and further away from scheduled elections, sometimes into the year
before.
The Democrats fear that the SWP — which calls for workers to build their own
party, a labor party, based on their unions — would get more media and
attention from working people if it is on the ballot. And they fear losing
votes to third pro-capitalist parties like the Green Party, which could cost
them close elections. The Republicans don’t want to see parties like the
Libertarian and Independence parties siphoning off votes that could cost them
an election.
The capitalist rulers in the U.S. have governed for decades through their
two-party shell game, telling working people that if you don’t like one of
their parties, just go for the other one.
In New York state, a new law in 2020 promoted by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo
boosted to 45,000 the number of petition signatures required when third parties
try to run for statewide office, three times the already high 15,000 set before.
The law also increased the number of votes a third party had to get to retain
party ballot status in the next election, from 50,000 to 130,000.
This meant the Libertarian, Green, Independence and Serve America Movement
parties have been removed from the ballot in the future. Now they’ll have to
petition for every single office they want to run for going forward.
When these parties challenged the new restrictions, a federal appeals court
refused to hear their case, saying removing them from the ballot would improve
the chances that the winner of the election will have received a majority of
the vote!
Ballot requirements raised
In Iowa, the state Senate passed a bill Feb. 23 that would increase petitioning
requirements from 1,500 to 3,500 signatures for independent candidates and
minority parties running for president, U.S. Senate or governor. It also
imposes a new distribution requirement of getting at least 100 signatures in
each of Iowa’s 19 counties. The state’s House of Representatives is now
considering the bill.
In Arkansas, the House unanimously passed a bill Feb. 4 to increase petition
signatures from 1,000 to 5,000 for independents or other parties running for
president.
The U.S. Supreme Court Feb. 22 refused to hear a challenge to the decision by
North Carolina officials that petitions for independent presidential candidates
must be submitted by the first week of March — eight months before the general
election. Their decision means that similar deadlines could also be set in
Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, and even earlier in South Carolina — in
February.
Not to be outdone, the Montana legislature has begun discussing pushing back
the deadline for a new party to file petitions there to December of the year
before the election.
In Arizona, the State Supreme Court removed independent presidential candidate
Kanye West from the ballot last year, saying it would explain why later. “He
was apparently removed from the ballot because his elector candidates didn’t
file campaign finance documents,” wrote Richard Winger, publisher of Ballot
Access News, not because of any problem with his petitions. “Never before had
the state required electors to file such documents.”
In Alabama, the state charged the Libertarian Party $36,000 to get a copy of
the list of registered voters, while “ballot-qualified parties”
— the Democrats and Republicans — got the list for free.
Doesn’t there seem to be a trend here?
Ky. SWP launches campaign, ‘Workers need their own voice’
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — “Working people need a voice and a movement,” Margaret Trowe
told Rebekah Dow of WLKY-TV as she interviewed the Socialist Workers Party
candidate for mayor at a press conference outside City Hall March 12. “Like the
18… SWP ballot drive in New Jersey gains ground UNION CITY, N.J. — Supporters
of the campaign of Joanne Kuniansky and Candace Wagner, the Socialist Workers
Party candidates for governor and lieutenant governor of New Jersey, made
steady progress during the second weekend of a six-week effort to put… Working
class needs its own foreign policy Statement by Joanne Kuniansky, Socialist
Workers Party candidate for New Jersey governor, March 16. Democratic and
Republican politicians alike claim to wield U.S. economic and military
influence at home and abroad in the interests of “all Americans.” Workers and
farmers… Front Page Articles Back locked-out Marathon oil workers’ fight for
safety!
Biden hypes ‘Rescue’ bill, but workers need jobs now
Protest: ‘Indict the police who killed Breonna Taylor now!’
Protests in Myanmar continue in face of military junta killings Give your new
gov’t ‘stimulus’ to the Socialist Workers Party!
Feature Articles
1965 Selma-Montgomery mobilizations won voting rights victory Also In This
Issue Ky. SWP launches campaign, ‘Workers need their own voice’
SWP ballot drive in New Jersey gains ground Puerto Rico fighters celebrate life
of Rafael Cancel Miranda Support Amazon workers fight for union in Alabama!
LA, NY protests hit deadly raids by Philippine gov’t Song backing dictator in
Belarus removed from Eurovision contest US rulers step up attack on right to be
on ballot Working class needs its own foreign policy On the Picket Line Nurses
strike in Massachusetts over dangerous understaffing New Zealand home-care
workers picket in fight for union contract Oregon medical techs end strike, set
March 31 contract deadline Bus drivers strike wins solidarity in UK Books of
the Month ‘Workers need to fight as a class to protect their interests’
25, 50 and 75 years ago
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Okay, thanks
--
Charles Bukowski “For those who believe in God, most of the big questions are
answered. But for those of us who can't readily accept the God formula, the big
answers don't remain stone-written. We adjust to new conditions and
discoveries. We are pliable. Love need not be a command nor faith a dictum. I
am my own god. We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and
our educational system. We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We
are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will
tremble to take us.” ― Charles Bukowski