I think all candidates who do not meet the requirements to be placed on the ballot should be held to the same standard. I see no reason to put Nader on simply because your nose is out of joint.
I see nothing in that cite that indicates the Democrats did anything other than apply the law. They lost the case; so what? Each state decides its own rules for elections, each case should be argued independently. Besides, if the fix was really in, the court would have found for the Democrats, doncha think?
You keep harping that it is a partisan scam, yet you has produced not one scintilla of evidence that what the Sec. of State is doing is anything other than applying the law to all candidates fairly. “Roll eyes” is not a cite.
But they’re not all held to the same standard, are they? In most states, the Democratic and Republican nominees get on the ballot automatically, or else produce a small number of petition signatures. Third-party nominees and nonpartisan independents have to overcome enormous hurdles. It ain’t right! :mad:
And in most states a stink isn’t made (nor are potential candidates taken to court or required to GO to court to get on the ballot) for most 3rd parties because no one cares. Notice Michael Badnarik hasn’t had to go to court to get on the ballot. The rules are being applied THIS time for partisan reasons…but they shouldn’t be there are all as BG says. 3rd parties have it tough enough without this kind of BS.
However, I think I’ll decline to play 30 cites with you FI…you can either see the trend or be blind too it. I’ve hijacked BG’s thread enough as it is.
Gomi: I’m in London and I’ve received and returned my ballot already. Have you?
As for third-party candidates, I would love not only to see more on the ballots but also for them to get more press coverage, at least for the ones who make it onto the ballots in most or all of the states. I’ve signed petitions to put candidates onto the ballot that I would never have voted for in a million years, just because I thought people ought to have the choice. Choice is good.
If you’ve been paying any attention to the news, it’s plain that there is a massive effort underway to keep Nader off as many ballots as possible, by any means necessary.
Yes, received it, but haven’t yet voted. I’m pretty sure how I am going to vote, but want to wait until the final debate before I do so - to be honest, I want to see how Kerry performs under extreme pressure before I vote for him…
Sorry, I must have misunderstood you. My apologies…
Here’s a new one: “Registering” Democratic voters, then destroying their registration forms! Christ, that’s even more dishonest than what they were doing before! :mad: (Thanx to rjung for bringing this to our attention and starting a thread on it – http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=280637.)
Note that in the United States we don’t really have “party membership” in the same way that they do in places like the United Kingdom.
In many states you don’t have to register as a member of a party. In fact, in Ohio (and other states such as, I believe, Michigan) you can’t register as a member of a party. In the primary elections in Ohio you show up at the polls and you are entitled to vote in one party’s election. Which party that is is up to you and the next election you can show up and take a different party’s ballot. They do record which party’s primary you voted in, but that doesn’t have any effect.
And I’m still trying to get my mind around the idea that partisan registration and GOTV is somehow improper or has the appearance of impropriety. That’s what democracy is about. You go out and try to persuade people to vote for your guy. In many cases, the first step might be to persuade them that they should vote in the first place. It can’t be bad for democracy. The fact that GOTV campaigns might have partisan agendas is the whole point of the political system.
I do think that every candidate should have to follow all the rules, failing that I think that the rules should be applied evenly to all candidates. This year one candidate failed to make plans and scheduled events so that by following the law he would have been omitted from some states’ ballots. If exceptions can be made for one candidate, then exceptions can be made for any candidate.
Here in Illinios, we are letting the president be on the ballot despite his failure to follow the rules. I think similar exception should be made for other candidates who ask for them. I don’t like that any candidate is avoiding following the process but it is unfair to make exceptions for one and not others.
Most people in the UK aren’t party members - it usually means that those people help in the campaign and pay yearly subs. I used to have quite a few friends in the Labour party, but without exception they tore up their Party membership cards and posted them to Blair when he took us into the Iraq war.
Here in NI I can’t think of a party that I’d want to join!