Nader in a nutshell: Ballot access then & now

Nader describes in one, short quote, the need for third parties, and fair ballot access laws. Quote begins, "Historically, the great ideas that have animated social justice." This clip is from a press conference at the Green Party of the United States Annual Meeting in Reading, PA. Summer 2007. More on Nader, ballot access and the Prez '08 race overall may be found at www.onthewilderside.net

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Ralph
• Nader
• Women's
• Suffrage
• Abolitionist
• Slavery
• Ballot
• Access
• Politics

[activistone]

The green party already has enough voters in every state for ballot access. Why not use the ballot for initiatives and recalls now? Every third party already has the critical mass to get the job done, it's only 5%! Why not educate voters to real solutions using the ballot and to organize people for access to challenge the system?

[iwilder]

@activistone I wish it were that simple. Ballot access is not simply about number of voters. In NY you need 50k votes for governor every 4 years, we have only gotten that 2 out of the last 4 elections so we didn't have ballot access for 8 years. As to ballot initiative and recalls, they don't exist everywhere. NY doesn't have them. That is part of the problem, ever state has different election rules. peace

Ian

[iwilder]

@activistone (From Kimberly) Thanks for your thoughtful comment. Definitely something to think about. I am not enrolled in the Green Party now. But, my personal view is that initiative and recall are democratic and good on paper, but not always in practice. Initiatives often get taken up by corporate lobbies or hate groups. So, I think there is an element where they can sometimes confuse or circumvent Constitutional principles or civil rights laws.

[activistone]

Yeah, they get taken up by hate groups because they have a right to flex the power of initiative too.

This is not a reason to abolish the process, it is all the more reason to educate the masses. Perhaps is the left wasn't so pacified from hoping for their leaders to make change, and they got involved we could make some big things happen.

I can't wait for a green party to get 5% of the vote to get on the ballot, only 5% is needed to put initiatives on the ballot too. The choice is ours!

[activistone]

I don't think people get the big idea. Ballot access is a work that takes all people. We have to shake them out of the mindset that one guy like a governor will save everyone. Everybody has a stake in ballot access. The process of initiative was instituted in North Dakota by threat of Recall petitions. The politicians initiated the initiative process by popular demand, then they put in a State Bank. North Dakota is the only state not spiraling into bankruptcy because they have limited the FED.