OntheWilderSide

KW: Well, in our world of ballot access activists — including Independent Political Report where the article was posted and Ballot Access News where commentary was posted — folks noticed Christian Archer’s duplicity. Still, Archer’s condescending, anti-third party, propaganda-babble made it passed the reporter at San Antonio News:

from Ballot Access News
by Ballot Access expert Richard Winger
San Antonio Express-News Feature Story on Texas Greens Exposes Ignorance of Texas Election Laws
July 25th, 2010

The July 25 San Antonio Express-News has this lengthy and interesting story about the Texas Green Party and its fight to get on the ballot this year.  But what is most revealing about the story is the very last paragraph, which quotes a Democratic Party opponent of the Green Party, Christian Archer.  The story describes him as a Democratic Party consultant.

Archer says, “I believe the (ballot access) laws are unconstitutional.  If anybody would challenge what it takes to get on the ballot, they would win in court.”  It is ignorant for Archer to say that, and it is bad journalism for the reporter to have printed that without challenging Archer.  Most of the repressive Texas ballot access laws were upheld in the U.S. Supreme Court in 1974 in American Party of Texas v White.  The vote was 8-1 to uphold the number of signatures, the primary screenout, the notarization requirement, and the short period for collecting signatures.

More repressive Texas ballot access laws have been added since.  But in 1996, the 5th circuit upheld the requirement that independent candidates (for office other than President) must file a declaration of candidacy in January.  And in 2004, the 5th circuit upheld the discriminatory parts of the law that require independent presidential candidates to obtain 40% more signatures than independent candidates for other statewide office, and also upheld the earlier deadline for independent candidates than for new parties.  And in 2006, the 5th circuit upheld petition-checking procedures that allow election authorities to take a very long time to tell independent candidates whether their petition is valid or not.

Filed under: 3rd party, Ballot issues, elections, News, politics, third party, US Politics Tagged: | ballot access, Ballot Access Laws, candidate petitions, Christian Archer, Richard Winger, Texas State Law