[Lnc-business] Texas Republican attacks Libertarian voting rights

Mon Apr 13 13:02:44 EDT 2015

I thank the Lobbying Department at LPHQ for issuing the press release below.

It has a good balance of righteousness indignation and facts.  I hope some
media outlets pick it up for their publications 

or web sites.

   Scott Lieberman    Region 4 Alternate, LNC 

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From: Scott L. [mailto:scott73 at earthlink.net] 
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2015 7:44 AM

To: 'lnc-business'
Subject: Texas bill to reduce the number of third party candidates who make
it onto the ballot

It would be nice if we could get our Lobbying Department to lobby against
this.

http://www.independentpoliticalreport.com/2015/04/texas-bill-to-force-minor-
party-candidates-to-pay-filing-fees-passes-committee/

   Scott Lieberman

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 Libertarian Party <http://lp.org/files/EmailHeader6.jpg> 

For immediate release
April 13, 2015

Texas Republican attacks Libertarian voting rights

Republican state representative Drew Springer of Muenster, Texas has filed
HB 464, a bill to require minor party nominees to pay filing fees.

Libertarian National Committee executive director Wes Benedict commented,
"Republican Drew Springer's bill is a poll tax on minor parties, including
the Libertarian Party. It's an injustice, and it's unconstitutional."

The bill would require all minor party nominees to pay fees to be allowed to
appear on the November election ballot. The fees range as high as $5,000,
depending on the office.

Kurt Hildebrand, chair of the Libertarian Party of Texas, said, "This law
would effectively shut down third parties in Texas, and I believe that is
the intent behind it."

According to ballot access expert Richard Winger, the U.S. Supreme Court has
ruled twice that this sort of filing fee is unconstitutional.

On April 6, the Texas House Elections Committee voted 5-1 in favor of the
bill. (Five Republicans voted yes, one Democrat voted no.)

Similar bills have been filed by Texas Republicans in past legislative
sessions.

Benedict explained, "Republicans have claimed in the past that their bills
make things 'fair' because Republicans and Democrats have to pay filing fees
for their primaries. Nothing could be further from the truth.

"Republicans and Democrats have to pay primary fees because their primary
elections are financed by taxpayers. Political parties are private
organizations, even though they are regulated by the state. Nevertheless,
taxpayers are forced to hand over a lot of money to help the Republicans and
Democrats pick their nominees. The filing fees pay for a tiny fraction of
these costs.

"Libertarians and Greens, on the other hand, don't use primaries. We don't
force the taxpayers to pay for our nomination process. So there's no reason
our candidates should be forced to pay any fees.

"If Republicans and Democrats are upset about their primary filing fees,
they should just get rid of them. They control 100% of the seats in the
legislature, so it should be pretty easy for them.

"The purpose of Drew Springer's bill is simple: it has nothing to do with
fairness, it's just an attempt to shut all minor parties out of the election
process. If this bill gets passed, there will be many more unopposed
Republicans and unopposed Democrats in the 2016 elections.

"Representative Drew Springer has also filed a bill to prohibit school
districts from offering same-sex couples the same benefits as opposite-sex
couples. That gives us an idea of what 'fair' means to him.

"I urge legislators who support democracy to oppose this poll tax, which is
designed to silence minority opinions.

"This is America. The people should decide who gets to run for office, not
the incumbents. Libertarians stand for freedom on every issue, and we oppose
bullies who would try to stop us from participating in the election
process."

Benedict added, "Texas isn't the only place that Republicans are trying to
step on voting rights. In New Hampshire, the Republican National Committee
is trying to get involved in a lawsuit over the state's petitioning law. The
law was changed in 2013 to make it harder for small parties to get petition
signatures to appear on the ballot. The Libertarian Party filed a lawsuit
against the change, but the Republican National Committee is trying to
intervene in support of the change."

Wes Benedict is the executive director of the Libertarian National
Committee, and he served as executive director of the Libertarian Party of
Texas from 2004 to 2008.

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