Legal Suicide of a Ballot Qualified Political Party

Thanks to Ballot Access News for the post.

Reportedly, national leaders of Americans Elect are planning to ask state officials to de-certify the party, in all the states in which the party is now ballot-qualified. However, there is no legal precedent that gives state or national party leaders the legal ability to take that step.

States in which Americans Elect is currently ballot-qualified are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

So now we will have to check who tries to locally take over their ballot position.

Use the above link to read an article by Jacqueline Salit, the President of IndependentVoting.org, the author of Independents Rising: Outsider Movements, Third Parties and the Struggle for a Post-Partisan America, to be published by Palgrave/Macmillan in August.









NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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What Went Wrong with Third Party Movement in 2012

This article is by Jacqueline Salit, the President of IndependentVoting.org. She is the author of Independents Rising: Outsider Movements, Third Parties and the Struggle for a Post-Partisan America, to be published by Palgrave/Macmillan in August.

Last month, Americans Elect, the group aiming to create an alternative nominating process for a centrist “unity” ticket in the 2012 presidential elections, announced it would not field a presidential candidate.

Founded by financier Peter Ackerman, Americans Elect had raised and spent $35 million in pursuit of 50 state ballot lines and a database of non-aligned delegates who would choose presidential and vice presidential nominees. But despite deep pockets, significant media exposure, and pollsters galore pointing to extreme dissatisfaction with politics-as-usual, Americans Elect fell flat.

What went wrong?

To find out, use the above link.









NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Americans Elect 2012 Update

From the Americans Elect website: No Candidates to vote for.

Statement by Americans Elect CEO Kahlil Byrd

Over the past two years, Americans Elect has focused on achieving three clear goals:

•Gaining nationwide ballot access for a third presidential ticket to compete in the 2012 race;

•Holding the first ever nonpartisan secure national online primary at AmericansElect.org; and

•Fielding a credible, balanced, unaffiliated ticket for the 2012 presidential race.

Through the efforts of thousands of staffers, volunteers, and leadership, Americans Elect has achieved every stated operational goal. Despite these efforts, as of today, no candidate has reached the national support threshold required to enter the “Americans Elect Online Convention” this June.

Because of this, under the rules that AE delegates ratified, the primary process would end today. There is, however, an almost universal desire among delegates, leadership and millions of Americans who have supported AE to see a credible candidate emerge from this process.

Every step of the way, AE has conferred with its community before making major decisions. We will do the same this week before determining next steps for the immediate future. AE will announce the results of these conversations on Thursday, May 17.

As always, we thank everyone who has participated in this effort and will honor the work, efforts and trust so many people have placed in Americans Elect.

As of this morning, these are the highest candidates supported by the delegates:
1. Ron Paul, U.S. Representative of Texas (R)
2. Buddy Roemer, Former Governor of Louisiana (I)
3. John Huntsman, Former Governor of Utah (R)
4. Rocky Anderson, Former Mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah (I)

Update
There is a desire among Delegates and millions of Americans who have supported Americans Elect to see a credible candidate emerge from this process.

However, the rules, as developed in consultation with the Americans Elect Delegates, are clear. As of this week, no candidate achieved the national support threshold required to enter the Americans Elect Online Convention in June. The primary process for the Americans Elect nomination has come to an end.

Americans Elect, from the outset, has been a rules-based process, with the rules publicly available and open to debate by the Delegates. Our key priorities have been to: 1) honor the trust Americans Elect has built with the Delegates and American public; 2) require candidates to earn the nomination by building support among the Americans Elect Delegate community and American voters; and 3) create a basis for a solid future for the Americans Elect movement.

This decision honors these priorities.

Through the efforts of thousands of staffers, volunteers, and leadership, Americans Elect has achieved its operational goals, including:

•Creating a pathway for nationwide ballot access for a balanced presidential ticket unaffiliated with the nominating process of either major party to compete in the 2012 race;

•Building the technological platform for the first nonpartisan secure national online primary at AmericansElect.org;

•Attracting a significant base of more than 4 million supporters, including Delegates, petition signers and volunteers;

•Educating the national and local media on the Americans Elect mission; and

•Finishing an extensive candidate briefing program involving more than 100 potential candidates.

As always, we thank everyone who has helped build this organization and are grateful for the work, efforts, and trust so many people have placed in Americans Elect. We are continuing the Americans Elect mission of creating more choice in our political system, giving candidates unaffiliated with the nominating process of either major party an authentic way to run for office and giving the American people a greater voice in our political process.









NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Americans Elect 2012 Update

Americans Elect has canceled its First Caucus Ballot, because not enough actual people wanted their candidates.

Under their rules, after three online caucus votes, they wanted six candidates to advance to their primary. But under their rules, a candidate needs 1,000 supporters in 10 states or 10,000 delegates signing their petition.

As of today the top candidates are:

Ron Paul - 8,644
Buddy Roemer - 4,304
Jon Huntsman - 3,409
Rocky Anderson - 2,594

There are two more nominating ballots left for which an Americans Elect presidential candidate might qualify. Besides Ron Paul, no Americans Elect candidate is on track to meet those deadlines.

Has Americans Elect failed? Is it because nobody knew about it or because nobody wanted it?









NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Americans Elect Possible Candidate Ticket

Thanks to Ballot Access News for this post.

According to a source within Americans Elect, Jon Huntsman will seek the Americans Elect presidential nomination, and Evan Bayh is willing to be his running mate. Huntsman was Governor of Utah 2004-2008. Bayh was Indiana Governor 1988-1996, and U.S. Senator 1998-2010. Huntsman and Bayh have not told Americans Elect leaders that they will seek the nomination.

Because Huntsman is a Republican and Bayh is a Democrat, the proposed ticket is deemed “balanced” by the Americans Elect bylaws. If Huntsman wins the on-line Americans Elect presidential primary, and Bayh becomes his running mate, the Americans Elect board would have no ability to contradict the results of the on-line primary. Of course, Huntsman and Bayh are the type of candidates whom the founders of Americans Elect would wish to see nominated in any event.

As a delegate to AE, I would vote for this ticket. But I wonder if the Board has already decided who they will support.









NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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E-voting gets closer in 2012

Voters in many states will have an easier time casting their ballots in 2012, as elections officials are now allowing some people to vote via email or iPad devices. They're also using technology to help count ballots faster and keep track of ballot boxes.

These new voting technologies will save time and money and perhaps allow more people to take part in the elections process. But some experts worry that security flaws still haven't been fixed and that federal elections are still decades away from going fully online.

Despite the concerns, some states are embracing e-voting as a way to counter low voter turnout.

Oregon, for example, allowed disabled people to vote with iPads during a special election in November 2011 and will continue allowing that in 2012.

Oregon is also one of 11 states that currently or will soon let residents register to vote online as long as they have a valid state driver's license or ID card, according to Politico. All other states require voter registration in person or by mail.

West Virginia officials ran a pilot program in 2010 that allowed military and overseas voters to return their ballots online, said Jim Glance, spokesman for the West Virginia Secretary of State's Office. The program won't continue in 2012, however, because legislators failed to renew it.

In Long Beach, Calif., city officials are putting radio frequency identification (RFID) chips on ballot boxes to track their movements after polls close. The chips are used by big-box retailers to track inventory through their supply chain.

Other states are installing new high-speed scanners to help count paper ballots more quickly.

While some states and localities are taking baby steps to embrace new voting technology, it's not likely that online voting will come to the masses anytime soon, experts say.

Then we have Americans Elect 2012, where any registered voter can become an online delegate, determine the platform , and pick a third party ticket where the President and Vice-President must be from a different party or be an independent.









NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Americans Elect 2012 Update

Thanks to Ballot Access News for this post.

On PBS NEWSHOUR, Judy Woodruff interviewed Elliot Ackerman, Chief Operating Officer for Americans Elect and a decorated veteran of both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, and former Clinton adviser and Democratic pollster Douglas Schoen, who sits on the group's board of advisers.

Judy reports on the latest attempt to push American politics away from a system dominated by two parties by a nonprofit organization called Americans Elect who will host an online national political convention to select the President and Vice President to be on all 50 states' ballot and upend the way candidates are nominated for the U.S. presidency.

Use the above link to hear and read a transcript of the interview.









NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Primary System distorts Democracy

This post is from Americans Elect 2012.

In 2007, the New York Times editorialized, “The presidential primary system is broken…The two parties should begin a discussion of the best reform proposals now, and plan on having a new system in place for 2012.”

Four years later, the parties have done nothing to change a system that, among other flaws, elevates the Iowa and New Hampshire votes above all other states.

A new study published in the Journal of Political Economy, which examined the 2004 presidential primary, confirmed “the often-held notion that early states have a disproportionate influence over the selection of candidates … and thus represents a significant departure from ‘one person, one vote.’”

In fact, the researchers found that voters in Iowa and New Hampshire can have as much as eight times the influence as voters in other states.

David Leonhardt writes in the New York Times that the current primary system does not just distort our democracy, it also distorts our economy – based on another study in Political Research Quarterly.

“Above all, Iowa and New Hampshire lack a single big city, at a time when large metropolitan areas are crucial to lifting economic growth,” he writes.

Leonhardt quotes Brookings vice president David Katz, “Our political tilt toward small states and small towns, in presidential campaigns and the governing that follows, is not only a quaint relic of an earlier era but a dangerous distraction at a time when national prosperity depends on urban prosperity.”

Various reforms to the presidential primary process have been suggested, such as having each region of the country kick off primary voting on a rotating basis every four years.

If you are a reader of my blog, you know how I thing the primary process should be changed. Since I vote for candidates and not the party, here is a sample of the current voting process fails us.

In NY we have closed major party primaries. Some look at opening the process by allowing independents, called blanks in NY, to ask for a party ballot at the poll, a form of Open Primaries. But I want to vote for candidates. will this type of voting allow me to take different ballots and select the candidates I want to vote for? The answer is NO.

For me an Open Primary is all candidates presented on One Ballot.

What is your change to our current different voting systems?









NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Americans Elects 2012 in CA.

This post is the results from an email update from Americans Elects 2012.

Kellen Arno, AE National Field Director, is currently leading an effort in the state of California. Kellen explained what’s involved.

What is the mission in California?
They are collecting signatures to reserve a place on the ballot for Americans Elect in November 2012, so that a ticket will be able to compete against the Democrats, Republicans and several other political parties in the state of California.

How exactly can Americans Elect get onto the ballot?
In California, there are two ways to do it. You can collect voter registration affidavits equal to 1% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election, which is roughly 100,000. The other method, which they are using, is to collect signatures on a petition. The signatures have to be equal to 10% of the total votes cast in the last gubernatorial election, or a little over 1 million.

Why choose the 1 million signature method?
One of the core beliefs of Americans Elect is welcoming Americans from all political parties and ideologies. Because they are not a traditional third party or political part of any sort, they don’t want to ask people to leave their parties. Instead, they believe that the more people who are able to participate in Americans Elect, from as diverse backgrounds as possible, ultimately makes our democracy and our country stronger.

They believe that collecting the signatures of over 1 million Californians reflects a powerful display of support for Americans Elect.

Who is collecting the signatures?
They have regional field managers in all major urban areas who are managing a team of over 800 signature-gatherers, also known as circulators. They do several trainings every day for anyone who is interested in gathering signatures. Many of the signature-gatherers are full-time professional circulators who have worked prior campaigns. A lot of them have some interest in politics. They also have a lot of people who are first-timers, who have never done this before – college students and college-aged people. A handful of circulators simply had heard of Americans Elect and this was the way they wanted to get involved.

I will keep everyone up-to-date as I get further updates.









NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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A new way to choose a President

Americans Elect (AE), was previously called Unity ’12, and still earlier Unity ’08. AE plans to nominate a presidential ticket in 2012 that will bridge the vital center of American opinion.

In June 2012, Americans Elect will invite you and every registered voter in the country to go online and choose a third ticket for President and Vice President through a secure, Internet-based convention. This 21st-century ticket will give voice to the vital center of the American public and will be on the ballot in all 50 states.

America's challenges are only getting bigger as the two political parties in Washington fail to work together to find solutions. Voters across the political spectrum—Republicans, Democrats, and independents—feel left out or put off by the endless shouting match that solves nothing. We need new leaders who represent and answer to the people, not the parties, and it begins with you.

I was a member of Unity '08, so I will follow this new effort closely.

Use the above link to find out more about this effort.









NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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