A partnership of political parties and election-reform groups working to ease North Carolina's ballot access restrictions and increase citizen access to government.
North Carolina has some of the most restrictive ballot access laws in the nation, laws that prevent third parties and independent candidates getting on the ballot and kick third parties off the ballot if they don't reach high vote thresholds in statewide elections.
This November (2006), more than half of all state legislative races will be uncontested. We don't think it's coincidence that less than half of eligible adults vote in North Carolina elections.
Voters show up at the polls when they have a choice on the ballot. One way to ensure more choice is to open the ballot to independent candididates and third parties.
House Bill 88 would have reduced the burden on third parties and independent candidates. In its original version it would have reduced the signature requirement for ballot access by three-fourths and the votes needed to remain on the ballot by four-fifths.
The Electoral Fairness Act passed out of two House committees by unanimous vote before it was amended on the floor of the House to make ballot access even more difficult than it is now. The bill currently resides in the Senate Judiciary I committee.
At 69,734 verified signatures, North Carolina's ballot access requirement for political parties is the third most restrictive in the nation. A federal court recently overturned the state's requirement for independent candidates, which stood at roughly 100,000, the second highest in the country.
A great majority of states require 10,000 or fewer signatures for independent candidates. More than twenty states require 10,000 or fewer signatures for political parties as well. Nine states require 5,000 or fewer signatures for both independents and parties.
As it was amended at the end of the long session, the Electoral Fairness Act would preserve the state's current signature requirement for third parties (69,734 verified signatures) and move the signature deadline forward four months, effectively making ballot access more difficult.
We can do something about North Carolina's restrictive elections process. Ask your state legislators to improve voter participation in North Carolina. Ask them to restore House Bill 88 to its original form!