[LPVA Announce] Please ask your Delegate to support SB 690

Dear LPVA Members & Friends:

 

This is an update on ballot access legislation currently in the Virginia General Assembly.  Please read this email, then take action immediately.

 

SB 690, which reduces the number of valid signatures to get on the ballot for presidential primaries and for President in General Elections from 10,000 to 5,000, passed the Virginia Senate 23-17.  The bill has now gone to the House Privileges & Elections Committee for consdieration.

 

However, the Virginia House of Delegates passed, by a 100-0 vote, HB 1346, which makes the same signature reduction, but ONLY for presidential primaries.  HB 1346 does not reduce the number of signatures needed for President in General Elections.

 

Please contact your Delegate and ask them, in the name of fairness for all candidates, to vote for SB 690.  It is particularly important to do so if your Delegate is on the House Privileges & Elections Committee, which is the subcommittee that will make a recommendation on this bill to the entire House of Delegates.

 

Don't know who your Delegate is?  It's easy to find out.  Just go to:

 

http://virginiageneralassembly.gov/

 

then click on the blue bar at the top of the page to go to "Who's My Legislator."  Type in your street address, city and zip cod to find out who are your Delegate and Senator.

 

The House Privileges & Elections Committee members, with district numbers, are:

 

Cole (Chair), 88

Putney, 19

Ingram, 62

Cosgrove, 78

O'Bannon, 73

Miller (Vice Chair), 50

Landes, 25

Hugo, 40

Cox, J.A., 55

Ramadan, 87

Ransone, 99

O'Quinn, 5

Scott, J.M., 53

Joannou, 79

Sickles, 43

Howell, A.T., 90

Dance, 63

Spruill, 77.

 

Delegate Cole was the patron of HB 1346.  Senator Dick Black is the patron for SB 690, the preferred bill.

 

Until 1970, it took only 1,000 valid signatures to get on the ballot in Virginia for President of the United States, and, during that time, there were never more than seven (7) candidates on the ballot in Virginia for President.  If 10,000 valid signatures is too many for major party politicians to gather to get on the ballot for Presidential primaries, it is also too many for third party and independent candidates for General Elections.

 

As a matter of fairness, the Virginia General Assembly should extend the same reduction to all Presidential candidates, and, preferably, all statewide candidates for any office.

 

Thank you for emailing and calling your Delegate on this matter of utmost importance to the future of the Libertarian Party of Virginia.

 

Bill Redpath

Political Development Committee Chair

Libertarian Party of Virginia