“Green party to stay on ballot”

The Texas Democratic Party cleared the way Wednesday for Green Party candidates to remain on the November ballot by dropping its state Supreme Court challenge to the legality of the Greens’ ballot access petition drive.

Texas Green Party Gets Favorable Ruling

The ruling was a victory for the Texas Green Party, which had appealed a decision by state District Judge John Dietz last week that blocked the party from naming candidates to the November ballot by a Friday deadline, in response to a lawsuit filed by the Texas Democratic Party.
…
Christina Tobin, president of the petitioning firm, Free & Equal Inc.

Houston Chronicle has this article, Supreme Court lets Green Party on ballot _ for now

Also at the Austin Statesman, Greens can put candidates on ballot for now, Supreme Court says

“Green Party attorneys on Monday asked the Texas Supreme Court to reconsider the ruling in time for the party to make its July 2 deadline to submit its list of candidates to the secretary of state.”

Previously, the Wall Street Journal covered the Green Party of Texas battle with this article, “Texas Democrats See Red Over Green Party’s Ballot Coup”. Free & Equal Inc. got a mention.

Christina Tobin, president of Free and Equal…

Free and Equal Issues Statement in Response to Recent Texas Media Reports

Free and Equal Elections is proud to stand next to the Green Party of Texas today to release this joint statement concerning Texas media reports involving Texas Democratic Party Chair Boyd Ritchie’s anti-democratic attack on the Green Party’s recent petition drive in Texas.

The statement from Free and Equal Founder and Chair Christina Tobin follows:

“Boyd Ritchie’s anti-democratic and anti-choice actions are shameful for a party leader. Free and Equal is a non-partisan organization that helps all parties, and Ritchie appears to have gone hysterical because a Green got on the Texas ballot this week. Ballot access and campaign finance are two completely different things. Ritchie is acting like a hot-headed party boss, not a party leader who deserves respect.”

“In Ritchie’s attempt to inflict harm on the Green Party, he will also harm voters by reducing their choices on Election Day. It’s a shame he would go to such lengths to keep a candidate from running, just because they aren’t a member of his party.”

“Ritchie wants to keep competition off the ballots and to thwart the Green Party’s participation in the electoral process. He is also trying to slam the door on voters’ choices when voters demand them via their participation in petitioning. These anti-democratic tactics by Ritchie are meant to cost the Green Party money, time, resources and donations in an effort to gain some media attention for himself.”

“Hampering political participation for the Green Party is wrong, and Free and Equal will do everything in its power to help the Green Party of Texas.”

kat swift, Statewide Coordinator of the Green Party of Texas commented:

“93,000 Texas voters legitimately expressed their wish to have the Green Party on the ballot, and we intend to make every legitimate effort to avoid disappointing them.”

“Ritchie has been making incendiary statements in the media and robocalls around the state based on unsubstantiated conjecture. We do not now nor have we ever had any intention of acting in violation of the Texas Ethics Commission rules, which we lobbied for and helped establish.”

“Their further allegation that we are controlled by the Republican Party is as ridiculous as asserting that Democratic candidates who regularly accept campaign contributions from Republicans are in fact controlled by the Republican Party.”

“Clearly, the Texas Democratic Party does not really want fair elections. Their leadership is content with rigged election systems and double standards regarding campaign contributions. The Republican Party is no different in these regards.”

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Green Party of Texas, www.txgreens.org
Free and Equal Elections Foundation, www.freeandequal.org

Free and Equal, Inc. is proud of our work in Texas overcoming their anti-democratic ballot access hurdle by collecting 91,655 signatures in 12 days in order to give Texas voters another choice on their ballots with the Green Party.

Free and Equal, Inc. is ready for your big job next.

Press Release from the Green Party of Texas
GREEN PARTY BALLOT ACCESS PETITION QUALIFIES IN TEXAS

CONTACTS:
kat swift, Statewide Coordinator, kat@txgreens.org
Christine Morshedi, State Co-Chair, cochair@txgreens.org

Austin, TX, June 9, 2010 – Yesterday, the Secretary of State approved the Green
Party as a qualified political party in the state of Texas.

Texans are eager to have more choices and more voices on the ballot this
November as evidenced by the approximately 93,000 signatures the Green Party
gathered in 75 days and turned in on May 24, 2010 – more than double the amount
required for ballot access.

Based on feedback received from petitioners, about one in three persons asked
was eligible and willing to sign, and on average one of the remaining two was
ineligible.  Primary voters regularly voiced their anger about being ineligible
to sign because they had exercised their right to vote in the March Primaries.

This is the first time in 8 years that the Green Party has been successful in
achieving ballot status in Texas due to the restrictions and high costs, as well
as the structural flaws in the electoral system created by the Democratic and
Republican Parties.

According to Richard Winger of Ballot Access News, before 1967, Texas election
laws did not require a new party, or any party, to submit any petition at all -
they only had to hold county conventions in 20 counties and a state convention.
Under those rules, Texas never had more than 6 parties on the ballot in the
entire history of government-printed ballots.

Green Party candidates offer a choice to voters who want to see the reformation
of democracy through voter-verifiable ballots, fair and equal ballot access,
public financing of campaigns, a sustainable and decentralized economy, the end
of corporate welfare, the elimination of regressive taxation, and an emergency
halt to the environmental destruction of our natural resources, such as the ones
occurring in the Gulf and potentially in Andrews County.

The Green Party will nominate statewide candidates at its state convention this
Saturday, June 12, in San Antonio, TX, at the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center,
922 San Pedro.

Media can register for press passes via email: registration@txgreens.org -
please include your full name, phone number, the name of the news outlet you
represent, and whether you plan on joining us for lunch.

For more information about the Green Party’s candidates and stance on issues,
see the Ten Key Values and Platform at http://txgreens.org.

The Green Party was knocked off the ballot by the Democratic Party in 2002. This is the first time the Green Party has achieved ballot access since 2002.

The State of Texas maintains one of the nation’s most restrictive ballot access policies. Currently, a political party seeking a place on the ballot must gather 43,991 valid signatures before the Secretary of State recognize it as an official political party.

To further complicate the process, Texas requires that signatures be gathered during a very narrow time period of 75 days, and only registered voters who did not vote in the primary are eligible to sign. This “primary screen-out” provision is exclusive to Texas. All other states that previously had this provision have declared it unconstitutional. WHEN Monday, May 24, 2:00 p.m. – signatures will be turned in immediately after the press conference WHERE Outside the Secretary of State’s office, Rusk Building
208 East 10th Street, 3rd Floor, Austin WHO Kat Swift
Statewide Coordinator, Green Party of Texas
Candidate for County Commissioner, Pct 2, Bexar County

Christina Tobin
Founder and Chair, The Free and Equal Elections Foundation
Founder and CEO, Free and Equal Inc.
Candidate for California Secretary of State

CONTACTS

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