Text of: 31388-CS-NonDis-O

Whereas, equal access to the ballot is important in a free Republic; and

Whereas, no one group should be permitted to have exclusive access to the ballot; and

Whereas, over the past quarter century election laws have been passed that make it difficult if not impossible for anyone other than the Democratic or Republican parties to have the names of their candidates printed on the general election ballot; and

Whereas, it is manifestly unfair to make ballot access so difficult (30,000 signatures in Texas) that a political party has to have a very large bank account to get on the ballot; and

Whereas, some states have "low requirements" (Colorado has a $500 filing fee, Mississippi requires a filed petition to have 1000 names, New Jersey requires a filed petition to have 800 names, Utah requires only 500 names) to get on the ballot without having their ballot filled with spurious parties and candidates,

Therefore, be it resolved by the 2000 General Conference of the United Methodist Church that we urge all state legislatures to review their requirements for a political party to appear on their ballot and, if necessary, change their statutes to make it possible for a political party to have its candidates appear on the ballot without the party needing an enormous bank account just to appear on the ballot.

 

 

 

 

Info About Petition 31388-CS-NonDis-O

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