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Origional archived at: http://207.69.235.40/news/today/Thursday/March181999/CTStorym5georgi.html
This story appeared in The Times & Free Press on Thursday, March 18, 1999.
Georgia Senate Kills 3rd-Party Voting Bill
By Sean Cavanagh
Atlanta BureauATLANTA -- Independent candidates in Georgia who were inspired by Jesse "The Body" Ventura's election victory aren't likely to muscle their way onto the ballot anytime soon.
A bill that would have made it easier for third-party office seekers to enter elections died in the Senate on Wednesday.
The legislation, sponsored in the House by Rep. Brian Joyce, R-Lookout Mountain, would have lowered the number of signatures needed for independent candidates -- like Minnesota's recently elected pro wrestler-turned-governor -- to enter local, state and federal races in Georgia.
The senators who might have faced those hopefuls in future elections rejected the bill by a 39-5 margin.
Supporters of the measure, who included a diverse collection of independent political parties, call Georgia's existing ballot rules some of the most restrictive in the nation.
"They (Democratic and Republican parties) represent the 37 percent of ... (registered voters in the state) who are turning out to vote," said Hugh Esco, chairman of the Georgia Coalition for Ballot Access. "We represent the other 63 percent who choose not to come to the polls, I would submit, because they don't feel they have anyone worth voting for."
All parties concede that the legislation's populist appeal virtually assures it will come up again, in one form or another.
Current Georgia law says candidates seeking state office must have a petition signed by 1 percent of all registered voters in the last general election -- about 39,000 people. Local races require 5 percent.
Rep. Joyce's bill would have changed the law to require 7,500 to sign a petition or signatures of 2 percent of the total number of people who voted in the last state election, whichever is less. Either standard would be lower than the current threshold.
Similarly, local candidates would have needed the lesser of 5 percent of signatures of those casting a ballot in the most recent election, or 3,000 signatures.
But critics of the bill said allowing too many names on the ballot would dilute voter interest.
"We've got enough trouble trying to get people to vote now without having such a cluttered ballot where people wouldn't know who to vote for," said House Majority Whip Jimmy Skipper, D-Americus. "When you've got a ballot so full of people and propositions and things, you actually turn people off."
Independent party leaders said the two main parties are most concerned with self-preservation. They say Georgia is one of only 5 states that have a registered voter threshold of 1 percent or higher.
In South Carolina, a third-party candidate for state office could get on the ballot with only 10,000 signatures, and in Kentucky, it's 5,000.
Once a party gets on the ballot in Georgia, it has to get at least 1 percent of the registered vote in the next general election to stay there. The Libertarian Party gained ballot access in 1992, and has received enough votes to stay there.
The Reform Party -- Minnesota Gov. Ventura's party -- made in on in 1996, but didn't get enough votes in 1998 to stay there. The Reform Party was started by Ross Perot.
Rep. Joyce is widely known for sponsoring bills on controversial social issues, which lack support of the Democratic majority. But his ballot initiative has won the support of a diverse collection of taxpayers rights' groups and political organizations, many of which would like their candidates' names on the ballot.
At the same time, it seems to worry the Democratic and Republican faithful in equal measure.
"What's to be afraid of?" Rep. Joyce asked. "I can see what's to be afraid of, if you're protecting a party. But there's nothing to be afraid of, if you're going towards full (voter) participation."
Republicans generally fear that the looser rules would let the Libertarian Party -- one of the few independent organizations that has some ballot access in Georgia -- siphon off their votes, the lawmaker said. Democrats are "scared to death" of more liberal-leaning entities such as the Green Party, he added.
Sen. Donzella James, D-Atlanta, offered Rep. Joyce's bill as an amendment to another piece of legislation, a common tactic and a way of getting around legislative blockades in the waning days of the session.
Its author said if he would increase the required signatures enough to please his fellow legislators that the bill would have more support next year.
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