Libertarian Party of Virginia: Is the General Assembly abolishing third parties?

Press release sent to [email protected] by Marc Montoni. Posted by Paulie.

The Libertarian Party of Virginia this week cried “Foul!” over a bill that is now on its way to a vote by the House of Delegates that would make it much more difficult for third party and independent candidates to get on the ballot — by making it nearly impossible to hire petitioners.

The bill, by Delegate Orrock of the Caroline-Spottsylvania area, carries a provision that would make it much more difficult and prohibitively expensive to hire paid signature-gatherers to help with petition requirements. The measure, HB 2642, would make it a jailable offense to pay petitioners by the signature to collect signatures. See:

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?091+sum+HB2642

“Anyone who has ever participated in a petition drive knows how hard it is for alternative candidates to get on the ballot under the law as it is already. This new rule will squash future third-party and independent campaigns before they even start,” said Marc Montoni, Secretary of the Libertarian Party of Virginia.

“There are thousands of people in every state who choose to pursue their beliefs outside of the two-party route. Many of us know very well just how badly the deck is stacked against us. We’re forced to bear a burden the state doesn’t ask the incumbent parties to carry. We are forced to bankrupt and exhaust ourselves on petition drives rather than advertising and otherwise introducing our candidates and ideas to the voters. How is this fair?” Montoni asked.

“It is already plenty difficult enough under current law to get on the ballot in Virginia — particularly for statewide offices such as governor. One of the ways we struggle along under current law is by hiring petitioners, paying them on a per-signature basis to maximize their productivity. It’s still an expensive proposition; so it’s not like it isn’t already a tough hurdle to jump. But now, if Orrock’s bill passes, the immediate effect will be to eliminate most alternative candidates, leaving just Democrats and Republicans for most major races — and it will thin the primary field even for them,” he said.

Libertarians wonder whether the legislative supporters of HB 2642 believe they are fighting petitioner fraud in Virginia. However, third-party ballot access experts in Virginia and elsewhere are unaware of any recent charges of petitioner fraud or lying by petitioners in order to coax signatures from voters. Moreover, it is easy for petition signers to read a petition to determine exactly what it is for.

HB 2642 will make it far more difficult and expensive for independent and third-party candidates — and major party candidates who need to petition for primaries — to get on the ballot in Virginia. It will serve only to restrict electoral choices for the people of Virginia.

Montoni also suggests the prohibition may be unconstitutional as well. In Citizens for Tax Reform v Deters, a trial court decision invalidated an Ohio law prohibiting per-signature petitioner payment (462 F. Supp. 2d 827 (S.D. Ohio 2006)). The decision was later upheld in an appellate decision handed down by the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (518 F 3d 375 (2008)). Montoni said in these times of tight budgets, the state should not invite the expense and hassle of lawsuits by passing a law that is simply unnecessary.

“Libertarians believe there should be fewer restrictions on the right of citizens to petition their government, not more,” Montoni concluded.