May 20, 2014 – Atlanta Ga: Election officials are predicting a very low turnout today in the primary election. Some predictions place it at only 20-25 percent. These nominating elections are held for Democrat and Republican Parties only, at a cost of millions of tax dollars and a greater cost for runoff elections.
While nearly half of district races are unopposed, the Libertarian Party of Georgia (LP Georgia), other political parties and independent candidates are locked out of the political process due to some of the most restrictive ballot access laws in the nation.
Georgia’s ballot access laws require “third parties” and independent candidates to gather five (5) percent of signatures of registered voters in order to get placed on the ballot. The efforts needed to gather the signatures are greater than is required to run the actual campaign.
LP Georgia remarkably gathered the required signatures in the 1980s and secured statewide ballot access and have maintained the required votes necessary to retain access. In spite of this, the LP still must gather petition signatures for district and county races.
In other words, LP has ballot access for the gubernatorial and presidential races but not for county coroner or commissioner. These laws created by the Democrat and Republican Parties are designed to limit voters choice and restrict competition.
The laws should be reformed according to Libertarian Party of Georgia chairman Doug Craig.
“With 30 to 40 percent of voters identifying themselves as independent, it’s become obvious voters are rejecting the two major parties and are seeking choices”, said Doug Craig. “The Libertarian Party offers that choice. If we had a level playing field, we know we can compete in the political market place.”
Regardless of the ballot restrictions, the LP will continue to place candidates on the ballot. Voters will have a limited choice in the November General Election with LP nominees Dr. Andrew Hunt for Governor and Amanda Swafford for U.S. Senate and Arron Gilmer for PSC District 4.
Perhaps a better alternative to nominations would be to require the major parties to nominate by convention as the LP is required to do at no cost to taxpayers.
A paradigm the Georgia legislature should consider.
For more information on ballot access go to: https://lpgeorgia.com/ballot-access/
