By Tom Humphrey, Knoxville News Sentinel, Knoxville, TN, March 16, 2011:
NASHVILLE – A Senate committee unanimously approved Tuesday a bill that would make it easier for third parties to be listed on Tennessee ballots and bring the state into compliance with a federal court ruling.
U.S. District Judge William Haynes of Nashville ruled last September that current state law wrongfully discriminates against third parties in favor of the Democratic and Republican parties.
The decision came in a lawsuit brought by the Libertarian, Green and Constitution parties, which argued that present law forces their candidates to run in Tennessee as independent candidates without a party identification.
Update Richard Winger in IPR comments:
This Tennessee newspaper story is not accurate. The bill makes almost no improvement and if passed will still give the state an unconstitutional deadline. I have e-mailed the author and phoned him, but he has not responded. We would be better off if no bill passes, because then the state would be forced to put the plaintiff parties on the ballot.
this Tennessee newspaper story is not accurate. The bill makes almost no improvement and if passed will still give the state an unconstitutional deadline. I have e-mailed the author and phoned him, but he has not responded. We would be better off if no bill passes, because then the state would be forced to put the plaintiff parties on the ballot.