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Source: Ballot Access News

Nomination for Mayor of Chicago requires collecting at least 12,500 valid signatures from registered voters in the City of Chicago. The deadline for filing signatures is November 22nd.

Last year, Free & Equal Inc. collected signatures for 14 candidates running in the primary for various offices in the State of Illinois. Of those, nine survived the notoriously corrupt challenge process, four did not, and one withdrew to run as an independent.

Free & Equal Inc.’s sister organization, The Free and Equal Elections Foundation, is working to replace the outdated, confusing and arbitrary challenge process with a $500 filing fee in lieu of signatures. Filing fees are used successfully in many states, generating revenue rather than draining public coffers with labor-intensive petition reviews and challenges. At least one Illinois state legislator has expressed interest in sponsoring such a bill.

Bill Brady’s niece, Brittany, blogged about her experience working on the petition challenge of the Libertarian Party candidate’s filing. Brady’s niece Brittany locked her blog, but we have it saved in an effort to keep Illinois politicians honest. Apparently, Brittany didn’t like the petition challenge experience much.

“I did not know that I would be doing this. I did not wake up this morning and say to myself, “how I wish I could verify petitions later this afteroon.” And after an hour or two at this job, I am now very positive that thought will never run across my mind in my life. It is painful, torturous work.”

Thank you Brittany, for telling the truth there. The title of the blog post is “Is it normal to start talking to people in your head that you don’t even know?”

Where did Brady’s niece Brittany get the idea to go work on a petition challenge? Apparently its all in the family.

“My cousin is here too, he is the one who got me into this whole mess. He called me while I was waiting for a press conference to be done and told me to get over to this building right away and to bring anyone I could.”

On June 21, 2010, John Fogarty bought a copy of the Libertarian Party candidate’s petitions at the State Board of Elections. Who paid the hundreds of dollars for those copies? Is John Fogarty, a lawyer, working pro bono for Andrew Heffernan, or is Andrew Heffernan paying Fogarty for it? As they say, follow the money.

“We have Bill Brady’s niece Brittany, Brittany’s cousin, John Fogarty, and Andrew Heffernan all working together on a petition challenge that would remove the Libertarian Party candidates from the ballot,” said Christina Tobin CEO of Free and Equal, Inc., a ballot access company founded in Chicago. “I don’t see where Andrew Heffernan has started a political committee in Illinois to account for his efforts and work on behalf of Bill Brady. So I have to ask if Brady and his operatives are donating their efforts to Heffernan, or if Heffernan is donating his efforts to Brady”

“Either way that should show up on Bill Brady’s campaign finance reports or Andrew Heffernan’s tax returns,” said Tobin. “I hope the Illinois Attorney General, the US Attorney’s office, and the IRS are paying attention to this. This is obviously campaign work and it must be accounted for, especially in a state with Illinois’ history of political corruption. Bill Brady and his Republican operatives should withdraw their expensive petition challenges today.”

Jim Anderson News Director for the Illinois Radio Network interviewed Christina Tobin for his syndicated half hour “Eye on Illinois” about Illinois election laws recently. Tobin discussed the difficulties candidates face getting on the ballot and solutions like a filing fee system, instant run-off voting, and proportional representation.

“Illinois needs to get rid of these private petition challenges that invite funny business and needless costs to taxpayers”, said Tobin. “Instituting a filing fee system for candidates to be on the ballot makes much more sense for everyone in Illinois.”

Atlanta, GA, July 21, 2010.  Mary Norwood, Independent candidate for Fulton County Commission Chair, today filed a request for a declaratory judgment in Fulton County Superior Court to reverse the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections’ decision to ban Norwood, asking the judge to allow Norwood to be on the ballot.

In the filing, her lawyers argue that the Board of Registration and Elections had discretion to allow Norwood on the ballot under Georgia law, and should have exercised that discretion based upon the Board’s finding that there was no harm from Norwood’s filing her notice of candidacy later that same filing day.  “Well over thirty thousand signatures gathered in 90 days speak volumes about what the people want,” commented Norwood.  “Voters clearly want to see more choice on the ballot.”

“We believe we will have enough valid signatures to meet Fulton County’s requirements to add my name to the ballot for Fulton County Commission Chair, which is vastly more than was required of my opponents,” added Norwood.  “We simply want a fair shot at getting on the ballot.  Let the people decide who should run the Commission in November.”

Norwood’s volunteer team of database specialists as well as the national petition company Free and Equal, Inc. have analyzed the registered voters who signed the petition forms.  Norwood has had one staff member working on validating registered voters since she began the petition campaign.

On July 13^th, Norwood’s campaign filed more than 33,000 signatures on nearly 3,200 notarized pages with Fulton County’s Department of Registration and Elections in support of Norwood’s independent bid.  “Mary’s perseverance and sacrifice to be an Independent candidate is something to be respected.  In more than 12 years of work, we’ve collected over one million signatures for candidates all over the country, and we have never seen the sort of support we see behind Mary Norwood to get her on the ballot,” added Christina Tobin, president of Free and Equal, Inc. “With the required 22,598 valid signatures from Fulton County voters, those voters deserve to see this happen in November.”

Monica Rucker was not hired by Norwood’s campaign or by Free and Equal Inc. At no time did Free and Equal Inc. have a contract or any agreement to pay Monica Rucker for signatures related to the Mary Norwood campaign. Any reports contrary to this are incorrect.

Monica Rucker apparently communicated with a paid petitioner from Free and Equal Inc. to get signatures in coordination with that paid petitioner. Free and Equal Inc. had no knowledge of that situation until after Monica Rucker went public.

Monica Rucker’s petitions were presented to Free and Equal Inc. and inspected as part of our standard procedures to ensure integrity. Monica Rucker’s signatures were found to be fraught with problems and showed a potential pattern of fraud. Those petition sheets were rejected and were not used toward Mary Norwood’s campaign. Free and Equal Inc. does not accept, pay for or use petition signatures like Monica Rucker’s that have such obvious problems. Free and Equal Inc. is submitting her signatures to the appropriate elections authorities for investigation and will fully cooperate with any of their efforts.

Monica Rucker is crying to the media and making threats in an attempt to get paid for petition signatures that did not meet basic standards. That behavior is unacceptable and Free and Equal Inc. will always stand up to rogue individuals like this to ensure the integrity of the election process, Tobin said.

Free and Equal Inc. has established itself as an industry leader for being honest, ethical and transparent. People like Monica Rucker wishing to make money from bogus signatures always creep in to the petitioning industry. Free and Equal Inc. is wholeheartedly dedicated to the integrity of our business and cleaning up this industry from people like Monica Rucker who do not respect the ballot access process, Tobin said.

Free and Equal, Inc., always works as closely as possible with government authorities and other organizations seeking to improve the petitioning process wherever we work. Many states are badly in need of election reforms to help safeguard against situations exactly like this in the future. Free and Equal Inc. is committed to following all proper petitioning procedures. Free and Equal Inc. will continue to work tirelessly for reforms that protect the election process from these types of fraud.

ATLANTA – Today, July 13, 2010, Mary Norwood, Independent candidate for Fulton County Commission Chair, plans to submit more than 23,000 signatures in her effort to gain ballot access for the November 2010 election. Norwood, her supporters and Christina Tobin, CEO of Free & Equal Inc., will present the petition forms to Barry Garner, director of Fulton County Registration and Elections at 11 a.m. at the Georgia State Board of Elections, 141 Pryor Street, Room 4075.

“Gathering 23,000 signatures was a herculean effort, and was only made possible by the groundswell of support from individuals in every part of Fulton County. Today, we created history by meeting one of the toughest ballot access requirements for an independent candidate in a county race in the entire U.S.,” Norwood said. “We can all be proud of our efforts.”

Norwood’s campaign team has worked tirelessly to produce the required number of signatures, totaling five percent of Fulton County registered voters in the 2008 election. Barry Garner and his staff will expeditiously review the petitions.

June 18th, Norwood hired professional petition gathering firm, Free and Equal, to amplify and reinforce the campaign’s efforts to obtain signatures. “It is a shame that candidates need to utilize professional signature gathering firms like ours to gain access to the ballot. We were pleased to augment the efforts of Mary Norwood in her campaign to get on the ballot as an independent candidate,” Tobin said. “Georgia’s ballot access seems designed to limit voter choice to two candidates from major parties. While this has been the history of the state, today’s presentation of the 23,000 signatures shows how important the independent voters’ voice is in elections in Georgia and other states.”

Norwood and her attorneys will present at 2 p.m. to the five-member Board of Registration and Elections, in Room 4056, her case for her to be a candidate on the ballot. The board will, at this meeting, vote to decide Norwood’s right to be on the ballot in November.

“Ballot access was never intended to have such onerous hurdles. In the democracy created by our Founding Fathers, any individual with the desire to enter public service should have a fair chance to be elected by the public to serve them,” added Norwood, who promises to assist other candidates in the future with their fight to gain ballot access in Georgia and other states.

The Board of Registration and Elections will also, at a later date, review the validity of several thousand signatures on a petition form with the word “Fulton” preprinted in the county space that was approved by the Fulton County Department of Registration and Elections’ chief administrative officer and director. Norwood’s campaign is hopeful that the Board will validate the signatures by the law, their department’s written approval and common sense.

“Only with the name recognition of a Mary Norwood could this petition drive be this successful,” Tobin commented. “Georgia is one of the most difficult states to qualify as a non-political party member, even with superior name recognition in this effort.”

“My future political efforts will be centered on how to make ballot access in Georgia and other states more accessible,” Tobin said. “Georgia requires candidates from outside the two major parties to get signatures from 5% of the registered voters. That is the highest signature requirement in the United States. Because of that high ballot access barrier, Georgia has had fewer presidential candidates on the ballot in the last 30 years than any other state.”

“Another restriction to ballot access is that Georgia’s state definition of “political party” is a group that receives 20% of the vote for president in the entire U.S. or 20% for governor of Georgia,” Tobin said. “No party other than the Democrats and Republicans has met that definition in Georgia since 1912 when the Progressive “Bull Moose” Party got 27% for president in the entire U.S. The last 3rd party candidate for Georgia governor to receive 20% or more was in 1898. When a state like Georgia goes as long as it has without independent and 3rd party competition on the ballot, that is a sure sign that change is needed.”

Proponents of ballot access in Georgia and Norwood supporters will be in attendance at the 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. meetings at the Fulton County Government Center, located at 141 Pryor Street. The petition forms submissions will occur in Room 4075 and the 2 p.m. vote by the Board of Registration and Elections will take place in Room 4056.

“The board needs to let Mary run,” said Free and Equal CEO Christina Tobin. “Thirty-thousand people have signed the petitions to say they want to vote for her.”

Norwood came within 714 votes of getting elected Mayor last fall. Now a difference of four hours could keep her out of the race for Fulton County commission chair.

“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

The debate will take place in the Cordell Reed Student Union Building of Chicago State University, located at 9501 S. King Drive in Chicago, IL. Sponsoring the debate will be the Student Government Association, African American Male Resource Center, Latino Resource Center, and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated.

Bill Brady (Republican Party), Scott Cohen (Independent), Lex Green (Libertarian Party), Pat Quinn (Democratic Party), William Walls III (Independent), Michael White (Constitution Party), and Rich Whitney (Green Party) have all been invited to share their message with Illinois voters.

Free & Equal is committed to giving all qualified candidates an equal voice in the debate. All invited candidates recently submitted petitions sufficient to qualify for the ballot.

“Until recently, Illinois has not seen a truly inclusive debate since Libertarian Robin Miller joined Al Salvi (R) and Dick Durbin (D) for a three way debate for U.S. Senate in 1996,” said Free & Equal Founder and Chair Christina Tobin. “Salvi and Durbin were brave enough to face a bigger and broader debate. I challenge Pat Quinn and Bill Brady to live up to their example, show some backbone and debate all serious contenders.

“Article III, Section 3 of the Illinois Constitution says ‘All Elections Shall Be Free And Equal’. Whoever is elected Governor will take an oath to uphold that Constitution, and we expect them to live up to that core principle of democracy starting today,” continued Tobin. “Illinois needs new and diverse ideas today more than ever.”