Category: Ballot Access

What Multi-Party Democracy Looks Like (Sometimes)

22/7/2019

Yes, I'm late to the party on this item, but Green Party of Texas luminary Laura Palmer just posted the official press release last night. GPTX is one of several groups and individuals who are plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit against the state of Texas over its unreasonable obstacles to the ballot.

News of the lawsuit appeared in the Houston Chronicle (paywall) more than a week ago. The Green and Libertarian Parties both received mention in the headline. The Texas Tribune got its version of the story out on 11 July, and RawStory picked it up the next day.

Palmer herself is listed as a plaintiff, sharing billing with the Libertarian, Constitution, and America's Parties of Texas. TSU law professor Thomas Kleven, who in 2016 ran for Congress in TX-18, also appears on the list.

But...HB 2504! Why Sue Now?
In light of HB 2504 becoming state law this year, guaranteeing Texas Greens a ballot line through 2026, why would GPTX press the issue via a lawsuit? Why would the Libertarians and Railroad Commission candidate Mark Miller, who pulled off a 5% coup in a four-way race in 2016, join in?

Governor Abbott Signs Ballot Access Bill

11/6/2019

HB 2504, which we have examined in several recent posts, is now state law. The Green Party of Texas officially has access to the 2020 general election ballot. I tried to make this post look like straightforward news reporting, but I failed in that endeavor. I'm pretty doggone excited about it.

Individual candidates who wish to run as Greens will have to pony up filing fees or collect a goodly number of signatures on a petition in order to run for elective office; the amount of dollars or signatures varies according to the office sought.

There's potential confusion in reading the record. The legislative history for HB 2504 says "Effective immediately," but that is merely an indication that the bill's status as statute takes effect immediately. The provisions of the bill itself go into effect on 1 September 2019, at which time the Texas Election Code will be officially modified.

I'll try to find out whether the effective date means that a prospective Green Party candidate must wait until September to begin collecting signatures; that doesn't appear to be the case, as there's nothing to stop a candidate from raising funds right now.

To be continued.

HB 2504 Passes the Texas Senate

21/5/2019

Party-line vote yet again, 19-12. Start this video at about 5 minutes in to see it happen—though if you blink, you might miss it, because those senators legislate fast. On to the Governor's Mansion it goes.

Greenfolk: Assuming that Governor Greg Abbott signs HB 2504 as expected, get yourselves ready to collect dollars or signatures when you run for office. If you take the petition route, your magic numbers are 500 for districted races and 5,000 for statewide (or 2% of the vote for that office in the last election if that is a lower number).

The Secretary of State's Office provides a table of the fees and petitioning requirements for parties that nominate candidates via primary elections. When HB 2504 becomes law, candidates from so-called convention parties—e.g., Greens and Libertarians—will still be required to pay the fee or submit the signatures by roughly the end of August, even though their parties will have ballot access guaranteed.

HB 2504 Moves On to Third Senate Reading

20/5/2019

Ballot access geeks, here is a half-hour of major geekage from this past weekend: video of the discussion of HB 2504 during Sunday's meeting of the 86th Texas Senate, starting at 2:46:21.

Several Democratic senators rose to ask questions of Senate sponsor Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola). The questions seem posed to stall the bill's progress, mostly because they (perhaps rightly) suspect the Republicans of engaging in political chicanery. The Republican majority had mostly made up its collective mind on this bill beforehand. As it upsets the Libertarian Party, their putative competitors for right-of-center votes, the Republicans appeared ready to ram the bill through.

As of now, the Senate has not officially adopted the bill, but it did pass second reading on a party-line vote (19-12). This bodes well for final passage.

HB 25-0(six to)-4 Watch: Passed Senate Committee

17/5/2019

This time it was Socratic Gadfly who tweeted me with the news: The seven Republican senators on the Texas Senate's Committee on State Affairs approved HB 2504 yesterday.

The two Democrats had more important business on other committees or something, as they are listed as Absent on the report. One of them is part-time Democrat Eddie Lucio of Brownsville.

Ballot Access News reports that the committee heard testimony from only three witnesses:

Two Libertarians testified against the bill (because of the filing fee provision) and one Green testified in favor of the bill.

I'll try to find out which Green testified. It would be quite interesting if it were katija gruene, who like me has not been active with the Greens in recent years. kat, however, has testified against Rep. Drew Springer's similar bills in previous legislative sessions. The difference this time around would be the amendment tacked on last week, granting ballot access to parties that have received 2% of the vote in any statewide race in any of the last five state elections.

Quick Update: HB 2504 Moves Forward Tomorrow

15/5/2019

In these final days of the 86th Texas Legislature (phew, got it right that time!), Thursday the 16th is scheduled date for the review of HB 2504 in the Senate Committee on State Affairs. Attention on this bill has now gone beyond Texas: possible Green presidential candidate Howie Hawkins has been sending out pleas to sign this petition or call senators. The petition apparently sends a message to all 31 senators.

This morning I gave Sen. Borris Miles's Austin office a call and spoke to an otherwise well-informed staffer who told me he hadn't really seen the issue from the perspective that allowing more choices in elections improves turnout and enhances democracy. I doubt that it means Miles will vote for HB 2504 as amended, let alone be the lone Democrat in the Senate to do so, but a constituent can dream.

For those keeping score, the Texas Senate still comprises 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats. One of those Democrats, Eddie Lucio of Brownsville, has become notorious for voting with the Republicans on culture-war issues among others.

I have yet to find any new information on whether the Libertarian Party of Texas are considering launching a court challenge if the bill becomes law. As of last week's Chronicle piece, LPTX still opposes charging fees, mostly since the fees are set up to pay for the state's and counties' facilitating of primary elections...which the Libertarians and Greens don't have in this state.

Stay Tooned. There will be further updates as we continue to follow the progress of HB 2504.

Perverse Alliances: HB 2504 Passes House (Revised)

11/5/2019

Dude, I should be checking Ballot Access News more often. PDiddie sent several old-guard Harris County Greens a psst! by email this morning, linking to his new post concerning the progress of HB 2504 in the current 86th Texas Legislature (not the 92nd as I mistakenly wrote yesterday.)

The bill passed the House on a mostly party-line vote, 77-57, with five reps absent, and the Speaker not voting. Absent a major filibuster or a classic Dan Patrick Calendar Clusterfuck, this bill should sail through the Senate and get a signature from Governor Abbott.

In brief, HB 2504 allows candidates from convention parties (i.e., those that do not hold primary elections) to pay the same filing fees that candidates from primary parties do. In lieu of the fees, convention candidates may submit petition signatures, just as primary candidates currently may.

As if that weren't enough of a gift, another Republican's amendment to the bill, as passed by the House, reduces the criterion for retaining ballot access from 5% of the vote in a statewide race to 2%. Not in the next election, but in any of the previous five. Guess what? In 2014 and 2016, Green candidates crossed that 2% threshold in three four-way races. Since 2010, in races that the Democrats sat out, at least one Green has earned 5% or better, some scoring as high as 10%.

As Naomi Klein might say, This Changes Everything.

HB 4416 Could Kill What's Left of Democracy in Texas

6/5/2019

UPDATE: See PDiddie's comment below. Rep. Middleton has withdrawn HB 4416 from the current session, but she may reintroduce it in 2021 if re-elected next November. Still, we'll leave this entry up as a reminder of the obstacles that minor parties still face in Texas.

*****

No, that headline is not an exaggeration. The Republicans attack with vote suppression; the Democrats with limiting ballot access. Oddly enough, the author of the democracy-killing mini-bill we're discussing today is Geanie Morrison, an 11-term Republican from Victoria.

One silver lining to this unemployment is that it's easier to call legislators' offices during business hours. I seldom make those calls, preferring to work by email or through one of the "clicktivism" mailing lists I'm on. Today, I called my state representative, Shawn Thierry of HD146, to express my strong opposition to House Bill 4416. If you're neither D nor R, I advise you to do the same ASAP; the session ends in three weeks.

Here is where you can look up your representative's contact information.

The text of HB 4416 is short and not-so-sweet:

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the qualifications necessary for a political party to
have the names of its nominees placed on the ballot.

        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
        SECTION 1.  Section 181.005(b), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
        (b)  A political party is entitled to have the names of its
nominees placed on the ballot, without qualifying under Subsection
(a), in each subsequent general election following a general
election in which the party had a nominee for a statewide office who
received a number of votes equal to at least 10 [formerly five] percent of
the total number of votes received by all candidates for that
office.
        SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.

It does not amend Subsection (a), which stipulates that, in order to get on the ballot in the first place, convention parties like the Greens and Libertarians must submit a list of precinct convention attendees totaling 1% of the vote-count in the last gubernatorial election. They hardly need to modify Subsection (a), since the number of votes cast governor jumped from 4.7 million in 2014 to more that 8.3 million in 2018.

No Greens on the Texas Ballot in 2018

29/5/2018

The headline says it all: GPTX did not get the required number of petition signatures. That just means that it's time to begin getting the infrastructure in place for a successful petition drive in 2020.

If you signed it this year, thank you. If you voted in a primary and thus could sign it, please consider NOT voting in a primary in 2020. And spread the word.

Primary: Mixed Showing for Progressive Democrats

7/3/2018

We're just going to take candidates' "Progressive" self-descriptions at face value, despite any misgivings we may have expressed about these candidates progressive credentials. None of the identifiably progressive candidates won their races outright, but some will appear in the runoffs on 22 May. Others will have to be content with participation medals.

Obligatory/Reflexive Reminder: If you skipped the primaries (or even if you didn't), you can still help with the Green Party's Ballot Access Petition Drive. Down the petition sheet (PDF), print it out on legal-size paper, and collect signatures from primary non-voters around you.

Primary abstainers may also attend the Green Party's precinct and county conventions, 13 and 17 March respectively. Location information is still not confirmed, so for now I recommend just making your way to the Midtown Bar & Grill, 415 West Gray Avenue, on Tuesday night.

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