Keep in mind that third-parties and independents wanting to get on the ballot this year in PA had to collect an obscene 67,070 signatures this year in a state with only 12.2 million people. In contrast, independents and third parties in New York, a state with 18 million people, only have to collect 15,000 valid signatures to get on the statewide ballot. And in Pennsylvania itself, Republicans and Democrats only need to collect 2000 signatures statewide to get on the ballot for the primary.
PA Dems are alleging "fake names, names of unregistered voters and illegible signatures" as the reason they are challenging the petition, but remember that 2 years ago, it was in Pennsylvania that the Democratic Party used hundreds of lofty lawyers in an intimidation effort to keep the Nader campaign off the ballot. Now, there's no excuse if my fellow Greens really did use fake names to pad the signature total (which, given the legal consequences, I highly doubt). Yet, it seems highly likely that this challenge has less to do with the Democrats valiently upholding the rule of law and rather more to do with the systemic efforts of both Republicans and Democrats to decrease voter participation and turnout in election after election.
If the Democrats were interested in voter participation in Pennsylvania and lowering the potential for fraud by independent and third-party signature gatherers, wouldn't they push to accept the PA Ballot Access Coalition's suggestion that independent and third party statewide candidates only need the same 2000 signatures that the major parties do to get on the ballot? Indeed, another sensible suggestion from the Coalition is that parties cease to be defined by the percentage of votes they get but rather, a group becomes a third-party if they manage to register 0.05 % of the population of PA (I heartily recommend this for other states as well).
Will it happen? Not if people in PA don't get active on the issue. It's sad to first see someone like Cynthia McKinney go down as the Democratic establishment abandons her (flocking lukewarmly to millionaire and centrist Ned Lamont) and attacks minor parties across the country, denying millions their right to opposing viewpoints on the ballot, and still so-called progressives will work in droves to "retake the Senate" for them this fall.
 http://brickburner.blogs.com/my_weblog/2006/08/democrats_foil_.html
|
