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Green Party of New Jersey 2005-2007 |
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-Out of District PetitioningOne of the more intriguing avenues of this lawsuit is our demand for "Out of District Petitioning." Currently, under New Jersey law, a person who gathers petition signatures must herself be a signer of the petition. This prohibits GPNJ members from helping local candidates in municipalities other than their own from gaining ballot status. Although getting on the ballot for State Assembly is not terribly difficult - 100 valid signatures (which usually means getting 140+) - the requirements for local office are much higher. In a town of 18,000 people, it is frequently necessary to get the same number as for a State Assembly race. Greens would like to run for local office more often, but it can be a big boost to new candidates to have some help getting that many signatures. Of course, the Republicans and Democrats do not have to gather signatures at all - their official candidates are automatically on the ballot. Many, if not most, states allow petition signatures to be gathered by anyone. (In fact, in California, signatures are usually gathered by professionals.) The New Jersey law makes it difficult for new parties to run local candidates. Since local candidates have a better chance of winning than statewide candidates, and since getting some people in office will help a new party grow, the law in effect works to prevent the formation of new political parties. |
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