Illinois has some of the toughest ballot access laws in the state. The Champaign County Dems, although I'm pretty sure this is at the direction of a higher power (aka Michael Madigan) are challenging any candidate to the left of Zell Miller. It's funny how they still find the time and energy to let Bush on the ballot.
What makes this more apalling is that two local Dems filed their papers incorrectly and were still allowed to be on the ballots.
It must be asked, why is the Illinois Democratic Party fighting democracy?
from:
http://www.ucimc.org/newswire/display/18712/index.phpUrbana, IL Three Champaign County Democrats - Jane Williams who resides with county board member Tom Betz; Alan Kurtz who resides with Democratic precinct committee person Linda Kurtz; and Susan McGrath, Democratic precinct committee person - filed objections on Monday June 28, 2004 to the filings of Ken Urban, Dave Sacks, Susan Rodgers, and Zach Miller, all Green Party candidates for Champaign County Board. The County Officer’s Electoral Board will hold a preliminary hearing on the issue on Tuesday, July 6, 2004 at 9AM in room K on the second floor of the Champaign County Courthouse, 101 E. Main, Urbana, IL.
Green Party Candidates filed for Districts 7, 8, and 9 on Monday June 21. Each was required by law to solicit over 300 signatures, roughly ten times the number that would be required of a Democrat or Republican candidate running for the same office in the same district.
Zach Miller, running for County Board District 9, filed 445 signatures, of which at least 318 must be valid. Miller was challenged as to a lavk of valid signatures. Miller believes that his petitions will survive the challenge. Miller stated, "It seems like we will be able to make a strong showing that the challenged petition signers definitely were eligible to sign and intended to sign."
Objections to both Susan Rodgers, running for District 8 and Dave Sacks, running for District 7, were based on allegations that Rodgers and Sacks, both students at the University of Illinois, are not eligible for office because they 'do not reside at' their respective addresses.
Sacks is an apartment resident, registered to vote at his current address with a lease running through mid-August. David Sacks stated, "The Democrats of Champaign County want students who go home for the summer to register to vote in Champaign County and vote Democratic, but when it comes to those same students running for office, they suddenly have a problem."
The validity of campus voter registration for students who return home for the summer was upheld in court over thirty years ago. A person's residence for purposes of voter registration is also his or her residence for purposes of political candidacy.
Susan Rodgers adds, "As a registered voter, I have a right to run for office in Champaign County. As a candidate, I will represent the thousands of registered student voters who, like me, leave the county for the summer." Rodgers, a dorm resident registered at that address, returned home for the summer, fully intending to move back into the district in the fall.
Ken Urban, candidate for County Board District 7 and a professor at Parkland College, questions the further implications of the objection. "This is an incredibly shortsighted objection, one that will disenfranchise the student population if upheld, at a time in their lives when they should be encouraged to engage in civic esponsibilities."
Ken Urban and Dave Sacks will face two Republicans and two Democrats in the fall, while Miller and Rodgers will each face one Democrat and one Republican in the fall in their respective districts. Jen Walling, media contact for the Prairie Green Party of East Central Illinois, stated, "It’s disappointing that the local democrats would choose to focus their efforts on restricting the choices available to voters in the fall. These Green candidates have an excellent chance of winning and will make great county board members once elected."
The Prairie Green Party of East Central Illinois, a chapter of the Illinois Green Party, endorses these candidates for office.
For more information on the Prairie Greens, visit www.prairiegreens.org
For more info on Ken Urban visit, www.kenurban.com,
For more information on Zach Miller visit, www.votezach.org
Illinois election board defers ruling on ballot status for SEP candidateBy Joe Parks and Barry Grey
7 July 2004
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/jul2004/hear-j07.shtmlIn a hearing held Tuesday in Urbana, Illinois, the Champaign County Election Board put off issuing a ruling on a challenge filed by Democratic Party officials aimed at keeping Socialist Equality Party candidate Tom Mackaman off of the ballot for the November election. Mackaman is the SEP candidate for state representative in Illinois’ 103rd legislative district, which includes the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana.
The board authorized its chairman, Champaign County Clerk Mark Sheldon, to conduct a line-by-line examination of the hundreds of petition signatures challenged by the Democratic objector, in the presence of a representative of Mackaman and a representative of those challenging his right to ballot status. This time-consuming process is to begin some time next week. The board set July 27 as the date for a further hearing, at which it plans to issue a ruling based on its review of the contested signatures.
The hearing, which took place at the Champaign County Court House, was covered by a reporter for the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette, who interviewed Mackaman prior to the start of the proceedings. Following the hearing, Mackaman was interviewed by a number of local radio and television stations.
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