We
never needed the Buy My Ballot Spot (2014 SB 54) for someone to get on
the ballot if they didn't want to go though the parties. Just get 300
signatures from their friends or 1000 signatures for a state wide race
and go directly to the General Election as an Unaffiliated Candidate.
The Buy My Ballot Spot with paid signature gatherers favors the rich and famous. Why do they need State Mandated help?
My
Poll Results from respondents. Survey was sent to all active voters in House
District 30 in West Valley City in January 2016 (not just one party)
A federal judge has ruled that a portion of the law that passed in 2014, SB 54 Elections Amendments, is not constitutional for two political parties, the Utah Republican and the Utah Constitution parties. This part of the law requires the political parties allow voters who were not members of their party to select their party’s nominee. Because of that ruling, candidates of the Utah Constitution Party cannot use the optional signature route to get on the party primary ballot. (They don’t have enough members). They are OK with the ruling because they didn’t want the State telling their Party how to select its nominees.
Voters can only sign one candidate petition per race but might be able to sign a form to remove their signature, if they act fast enough, and sign someone else’s petition.
In some areas of the State, there are not enough registered Republican Party voters to make the signature party nominee route fair. Candidates using the signature route likely will have to register to do so prior to the legislative session and then all candidates will register after the legislative session. If someone decides to run for Party Nominee after the legislative session, there is almost no time to gather signatures.
The Utah Republican Party, who wasn’t part of the “compromise” is still contesting the law in court. A special legislative session to fix the law based on the court ruling was not called by the Governor.
30% The legislature should provide minor fixes of the current election law and see what happens in 2016.
53% The legislature should repeal this petition law because the court’s ruling has caused the law to become unfair to some candidates in some political parties.
17% It is too late for the legislature to do anything this election year, but I will not be signing any signature party nominee petitions this year.
(Disclaimer, I have personally fought the signature party nominee route because I believe it favors the incumbents, the rich and the famous. While I [was] an incumbent and plan on running for [election] after the legislative session though the neighborhood caucus and convention system, I am NOT also using the signature route because I do not believe that route is fair).
Fair Elections Utah Working to improve, but not gut, our neighborhood election caucus system. The Caucus System in Utah is the best way to make sure a grass roots process can work over large amounts of money. It is the only way someone with $100,000 can go against someone with $2,000,000 in election funds. We had a system that did NOT favor the incumbent, wealthy or famous. This was a good thing. SB 54 made things bad. The New Count My Vote is worse.
