Bad news from the Independent Texans:
Ralph Nader Loses Last Appeal To Texas Ballot Access
Mar 21, 2005 2:41 pm US/Central
The US Supreme Court has declined to hear former presidential candidate
Ralph Nader's appeal of Texas ballot access rules. An attorney for
Nader says this puts an end to the 2004 case. Nader had challenged the
ballot in Texas as being discriminatory against independents. The Fifth
US Circuit Court of Appeals in October upheld the rules as
constitutional. Nader was kept off the November ballot for failing to
collect enough signatures. Nader tried to get on the Texas ballot by
collecting voter names, but his campaign submitted them two weeks after
the May deadline. His attorneys argued the state had no legitimate
reason to have different requirements for independent and third-party
candidates.
As much as Ralph Nader aggravated me during the last election, I think this sets a really sad precedent. Even if Texas election laws are Constitutionally sound, they're in no way just or pro-democracy. I expect we'll see a concerted effort to change them in coming years..
Posted by sarah at March 22, 2005 12:02 PM