B. Thomas Marking and 9-12ers, call Pierre! The Republican elites are trying to make it even harder for Independents to get on the ballot in South Dakota. As if having to gather twice as many signatures to qualify for the ballot isn't enough of a barrier, Representative Mark Kirkeby (R-35/Rapid City) and Senator Dan Lederman (R-16/Dakota Dunes) now want to give Independents less time to gather those signatures.
House Bill 1158 would move the deadline for Independents to submit their nominating petitions from primary day in June to the last Tuesday of April. That means six weeks less time for Independents to gather the signatures they need to run for office. The regular party candidates have to submit petitions by the end of March; an Independent who looks at that roster and decides the regular parties aren't offering sufficiently good choices would have less than a month to mount his/her own ballot challenge.
Yes, there need to be rules and deadlines for the electoral process. But the two major parties already enjoy too many legal and economic advantages over Independent candidates. If I were a Teabagger, I'd look at HB 1158 as another cynical ploy by the entrenched powers to keep Independent citizens from challenging the status quo. Let the Indies be, Mark and Dan---drop HB 1158.
Cory,
I have yet to share my views of this bill on Badlands Blue, but, I hope to get a post out on it later tonight if time warrants. Thank you for using your "eagle eyes" to catch another bill that warrants a tough look at. We need to stand-up for the "Independent man and woman." You are quite correct that the status quo is entrenched and want to become increasingly so with their consolidated power in Pierre. We need to work hard in our determination to keep politics civil in this state and country, lest we further fall into the trap of hate and polarization from the extremes. The President reminded me of John F. Kennedy last night, but, it was Obama in his own right...not for himself but to encourage his country to do better together. We must remain determined to not let hate overtake us.
Imagine that Lederman would be one of those people trying to screw this up. Everyone in Pierre is already tired of Dan being a glory hound and a limelighter. The guy just craves attention.
As a Republican I hope the GOP votes this bill down. There are a lot of good independants in SD.