From Randy Stufflebeam: . WOW ! ! ! ! ! (in the order of dismay) I just came across this tidbit of information and just discovered that according to the courts “There is no fundamental right to be a candidate.” Here’s the paragraph to give context: = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Regarding the specifics of nominating petitions, new political parties are subject to the requirements of Election Code §10-4. For new parties, the most significant provision of §10-4 is “no person shall circulate or certify petitions for candidates of more than one political party . . . to be voted upon at the next primary or general election.” 10 ILCS 5/10-4. This section has been upheld in the face of constitutional challenges alleging that the provision violates the First Amendment freedoms of association and speech. Citizens for John W. Moore Party v. Board of Election Commissioners of City of Chicago, 845 F.2d 144 (7th Cir. 1988). In that case, a candidate for the Republican Party primary withdrew and attempted to run as a candidate of the “John W. Moore Party” in the general election. The John W. Moore Party was removed from the ballot pursuant to §10-4 because the candidate had circulated his own petitions for both the primary and general elections. The court affirmed the removal because §10-4 “simply does not regulate speech.” 845 F.2d at 146. The court reasoned, “§10-4 injures Moore in his quest to be a candidate and not in his role as speaker, and there is no fundamental right to be a candidate.” 845 F.2d at 148. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Again, I say “WOW ! ! ! ! !” While not exactly listed in the “Bill of Rights,” I believe that our founding fathers, through the Constitution, created a Republic and that the basis of this republic was REPRESENTATION. As you will recall, the Revolutionary War was fought over the premise of “Taxation without Representation.” The very foundation of our government is that of REPRESENTATION. It is the belief that every American has the right to representation. With the system provided, we are given the opportunity to elect our representatives. In order to ELECT representatives there first has to be a CANDIDATE. It would stand to reason, that if a person is given the right to representation (that means someone elected that actually represents the ideas and values of the people who elected them) then if the person feels that there is no other candidate that can adequately do that, they would then not only have the right to be a candidate, but the duty to be so. In other words, I believe the Constitution itself created through the very principle of representation, the right to be a candidate. I absolutely have no idea how this abomination of a decision has been left standing. .
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 22:30:57 +0000
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