Forum Post: Please help Equal Access Amendment get in front of the NYC GA
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 11, 2011, 1:29 p.m. EST by occupythegreenparty
(157)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Latest edition updated today 10/11/11
https://www.facebook.com/groups/152631684794770/doc/216291868428751/
EQUAL ACCESS AMENDMENT
Whereas Voting is the most important activity in a civilized society. Whereas the Declaration of Independence states we are all equal. Whereas the people need certain equipment to participate in a civilized society; those things being a truthful media and access to elections. Whereas the substance of life can cause us to be unequal such as our location, finances, education, it is necessary to set in motion boundaries to keep our elections equal for all citizens.
Board of Elections: Need be established as the hub of all election activity. A central place providing information on all laws and bills, classes on civics, meeting rooms and control the collection and disbursements of donations.
- Ballot Access: All citizens should have equal access (meaning the same requirements) to creating a political party and achieving a ballot line. The Board of Elections should accept applications for political party status requiring only proof of actually behaving as a political party. (Statement of Beliefs, 12 meetings per year, agendas, minutes and attendance sheets to prove the meetings took place.) The party will have a deadline, and then the candidates within the party will have a deadline to assign themselves as candidates under a party. All who meet the deadlines shall have a ballot line and attend debates.
Access for non party citizens: Citizen wishing to run without a party... must register at the BOE and meet candidacy requirements. They must convince people to write in their names on election day
Debates: The Board of Elections will schedule a certain number of debates for all parties who have achieved status by a deadline (same day in every state) and all citizens who have registered without a party. The debates shall be afforded the status of the Olympics in that it will not be some short one or two hour activity. Location of the debate can be done by raffle or bidding. In attendance of the live event will only be media personnel. Any media may attend. Citizens will not be allowed in audible distance of the debates. They are biased and can not be expected not to applaud. Each Candidate will be given equal time to be used as they see fit. Let's say 90 minutes. The number of questions will be determined before hand. Candidates may know the questions beforehand.
Candidates may use powerpoint or some such device to illustrate their answers. All powerpoint sources must be identified. After the question is placed on the screen candidates may answer. The order of the answerer will not be as important because all answers will be recorded. The candidate may speak as long as they like but they will be using their own 90 minutes. Any time a candidate speaks they must turn on their timer to turn on their mic. If they run out of time before the debate is over they will no longer be able to speak.
- Donations: (Reverse Citizen's United) No donations may exceed the amount that the poorest of our citizens can afford. At $20 a month for the four years of contributing time a candidate would have to request funds that is a total of $960. To make donations citizens must go in person to the Board of Elections office and donate to any or all candidates not more than $960 a piece in the election cycle.
(recent editing contributions have asked this to be reduced to $100 total)
The Board of Elections will check their voting status and deposit their donation in the candidates account. The board will inform the citizen when they have reached their donations limit. A candidate may donate to his own campaign at no more than $960. No other donations will be allowed for elections. Candidates will receive cards to access their funds. The board of Elections will be able to track purchases. Purchases for elections not made with card will not be allowed.
In-Kind donations will have their value determined at the board of elections not to exceed the value of $960. (so basically if someone wants to let you use their room the rental cost would be listed as a donation) A business may make an IN-Kind donation by going to the board of elections office of the county where the item will be used. (a certificate will be issued verifying what was registered for use and the value) A business may not make cash donations.
(recent editing contributions have asked this to be reduced to $100 total)
The Board of Elections will check their voting status and deposit their donation in the candidates account. The board will inform the citizen when they have reached their donations limit. A candidate may donate to his own campaign at no more than $960. No other donations will be allowed for elections. Candidates will receive cards to access their funds. The board of Elections will be able to track purchases. Purchases for elections not made with card will not be allowed.
In-Kind donations will have their value determined at the board of elections not to exceed the value of $960. (so basically if someone wants to let you use their room the rental cost would be listed as a donation) A business may make an IN-Kind donation by going to the board of elections office of the county where the item will be used. (a certificate will be issued verifying what was registered for use and the value) A business may not make cash donations.
Well this is just the start. What do you all think?
Since there is no way to find your post again except with replies
http://www.ballot-access.org/winger/iba.html
We no longer have vigorous and active third parties because Democratic and Republican state legislatures passed restrictive laws that make it exceedingly difficult for third parties to get on the ballot in many states.
These laws usually require third parties to gather signatures for a petition to be on the state ballot, and they often place strict deadlines for gathering such signatures.
These restrictions did not emerge overnight. From 1888 to 1931, ballot-access laws were rather mild. In 1924, only 50,000 signatures on a petition were required to place a new party on the ballot in 48 states (a figure that represents 0.15% of the number of people who had voted in the previous election). During the 1930s, ballot-access laws became significantly restrictive, as they required new parties to gather more signatures and file for application earlier and earlier in the campaign year. Still, it was not until the 1960s that compliance with ballot-access laws became extremely difficult.
In 1994, a new party that wants to field a candidate in every race for the U.S. House of Representatives and have the party name appear on the ballot next to the candidate's name would need to register 1,593,763 members or gather an equal number of signatures. Yet the Democratic and Republican parties need not collect any signatures to assure themselves of a place on the ballot, and the number of signatures needed for individual Democratic candidates to place themselves on primary ballots in all 435 contests is 138,996 (the number would be slightly different for Republicans).
True, the severity of these ballot-access laws does vary from state to state. In Florida, one of the more restrictive states, a party is defined as one that has persuaded 5% of the state's voters to register with the new party. This may seem like an easy task, but not since the early 1900s has a third party in any state ever managed to register 5% of the voters.
Even when people vote for a third party, they don't want to register with it. The Conservative Party of New York elected a U.S. Senator, James Buckley, in 1970, but they only persuaded 1.5% of the voters to register as Conservatives. Similarly, the Connecticut Party won the office of Governor in 1990, but registered only 0.1% of the voters.
Read the rest at http://www.ballot-access.org/winger/iba.html
Still want to know how one gets points
really no one?