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The Green Party of Connecticut called on the General Assembly to reform the “Clean Elections” Law ,which was struck down as unconstitutional by the Federal Court, as soon as possible, and not appeal the ruling to other courts, which would cost the taxpayers more money in legal fees and could take months in the courts.
Tim McKee, a National Committee person for the Green Party said “We have over a year before elections and we could fix the law in one day session. We seem to be stuck in “permanent and ongoing campaign mode “ if you listen to the Secretary of State and Attorney General. Their actions to try and appeal the ruling will keep hurting third parties and Independent candidates . We simply want to make the law constitutional as the Federal Judge ruled.”
Steve Fournier, State Co-Chair said “We will push for the General Assembly to treat all political parties equally by scrapping the excessive petitioning and matching funds requirements. If a candidate qualifies for the ballot, that candidate should receive full funding. The General Assembly can quickly and easily amend this law to make it constitutional.”
The Greens explained that the requirement requires that ONLY third parties collect over 200,000 valid signatures for equal funding for campaigns such as the Governor’s race. This means collecting close to 400,000 raw signatures, which would cost the smaller parties both a lot of time and money
Mike DeRosa, a lead plaintiff and Co–Chair of the Connecticut Green Party said “All we are seeking is a level playing field for all who run for office. We want MORE people to run for office and the law hurts minor parties and independent candidates by requiring extra hurdles and burdens.
McKee added “This ruling has national implications for all third parties who have been treated unfairly in other states. The Federal Court agrees with us that you can not treat us differently than other parties. Governor Rell has called the old law ‘a model law’ for other states to pass and others states were looking to follow the law struck down by the federal court. Other states, such as Maine and Arizona, treat the Greens and other minor parties fairly, and are the real “model laws” and we should do the same here.”
Filed under: 3rd party, Ballot issues, campaign finance reform, election, elections, grassroots democracy, Green Party, News, politics, progressive politics, third party, US Politics Tagged: | connecticut, Constitution, Green Party, third parties, Tim McKee
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