Democracy, elections and voting at Democracy Chronicles

Only Democrat and Republican candidates are safe as new bill threatens third party candidates. Ballot Access News, written by election expert Richard Winger, had a recent post, California Bill, Making Ballot Access Even Worse for Parties, May Get Vote in Assembly on Thursday, May 16, about the proposed bill. California is usually a major influence on other states largely due to its population size.  Take a look:

California AB 1038 may receive a vote on the Assembly floor on Thursday, May 16. This is the bill to make it illegal to pay registration drive workers according to how many registrants they obtain for any particular political party. If this bill were enacted, it would be much more difficult for either a newly-qualifying party, or an already-qualified party, to get on the ballot or remain on. The only realistic way for parties to be qualified in California is to have approximately 110,000 registered members.

No group formally supports AB 1038, but when the bill was in the Assembly Elections Committee, every Democrat on the committee voted for it. If you live in California, and especially if your Assemblymember is a Democrat, please e-mail or telephone your Assemblymember and ask for a “No” vote. Governor Jerry Brown vetoed very similar bills in both 2011 and 2012, and some federal courts have struck down laws similar to the provisions in this bill.

According to an article in the Mercury News, a local California newspaper, the problem is pretty series:

“It could spell the end of the Peace and Freedom Party,” said party chairman C.T. Weber, 71, of Sacramento. “It’s a shame that democracy is being undermined by this, but that’s the reality if we’re not able to overturn the law. American Independent Party chairman Mark Seidenberg, 65, of Aliso Viejo, said his party’s registration is robust enough that he’s not worried about staying on the ballot, but he agreed it would be “a shame” for voters to be denied the choices afforded by other parties.”