Speakers Keep Third Parties at Bay
In a decision meant to keep "illegitimate" parties off the ballot
and essentially out of public debate, both co-speakers of the North
Carolina House refused to bring H867, the Electoral Fairness Act, to
the floor for a vote before Thursday's "crossover deadline."
The Libertarian Party of NC had pushed for the Electoral Fairness
Act, which brings North Carolina in line with other states'
requirements in terms of ballot access barriers. According to Ballot
Access News, North Carolina is one of the toughest states to gain a
place on the ballot, and one of only three states where voting for
Ralph Nader was not even an option in the Presidential race of 2000.
The bill was passed by the Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform
Committee on April 17th, and was placed on the House calendar the
24th. According to Libertarian Party of NC Ballot Access Director
Dave Goree, the bill had more than enough votes to pass in the House.
However, NC house rules allow the Speaker to ignore bills that are
placed on the calendar, not allowing them to come to a vote. Both
co-Speakers Richard Morgan (R-Moore) and Jim Black (D-Mecklenburg)
chose to exercise that power against the Electoral Fairness Act for a
whole week.
Speaker Morgan explained his decision to kill the bill on Thursday
by saying, "By requiring a minimum of two percent of active voters to
sign a petition creating a political party, North Carolina maintains
stability within its political system. Although there are some
legitimate political parties in existence that have not yet met this
threshold in North Carolina, there are even more parties that are
illegitimate that this policy has been able to keep at bay."
"It's a tribute to our success," said Barbara Howe, Chair of the
Libertarian Party of NC, "because it proves our competition is so
afraid of us that they will go to extreme and unethical lengths to
deny the citizens the right to vote against them. It should be up to
the voters, not the Speakers, to decide the legitimacy of political
ideas."
In the election of 2002, 35 races for North Carolina General
Assembly would have been unopposed if it weren't for the record
Libertarian Party slate.
"With so few choices on the ballot, North Carolina politics has
indeed remained stable, and it is apparent that the leadership of the
legislature intends to keep it that way," Howe continued.
The Electoral Fairness Act drew sponsors from across the political
spectrum. The primary sponsor is John Blust (R-Guilford).
Co-sponsors include Arlie Culp (R-Randolph), Jean Farmer-Butterfield
(D-Wilson), Stan Fox (D-Granville), Michael Gorman (R-Craven), Earl
Jones (D-Guilford), Paul Luebke (D-Durham), Mary McAllister
(D-Cumberland), Earline Parmon (D-Forsyth), Deb Ross (D-Wake), and
Paul Stam (R-Wake).
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