SOCIALISTS GAIN BALLOT ACCESS IN COLORADO FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Wednesday, 18 June 2008

New Hampshire Denies Socialist Ballot Due to "Trap" Law to Ambush 3rd Parties

Spring Hill, Florida: Colorado's Deputy Director of Elections, Wayne Munster, confirmed today by e-mail to Socialist Party Presidential candidate Brian Moore, that Moore and his Vice-Presidential running mate, Stewart Alexander, "will be on the Colorado General Election ballot."

This was a far cry from Moore's experience in New Hampshire this week when he was denied ballot access on Wednesday by the Secretary of State's office despite a presidential candidate petition deadline of August 6th. New Hampshire is one of few states in the union that require one deadline for signatures and another small requirement to register to apply for candidacy two months ahead of time (by Monday, June 13, 2008). Moore accused the state of using a "trap" law by deceiving candidates with two deadlines.

Moore said it is a "typical maneuver "by the major-party legislature to keep third parties and independent candidates off the ballot who might "take votes from them." The state said he should have "looked up their website," and Moore argued he would have to review 50 state websites just to uncover "their hidden rules." Moore mocked the New Hampshire state motto which is "Live Free or Die," yet it denies smaller parties fair access and individual freedoms to participate in the democratic process. The New Hampshire legislature and gubernatorialship "are controlled by the Democratic Party and obviously perceive minor parties as "spoilers" or threats to their holding onto power," Moore stated.

Third party candidates, such as Independent Ralph Nader, Libertarian Bob Barr, Green Party Cynthia McKinney, Constitution Party Chuck Baldwin, and Socialist Moore, and others as well, are struggling to achieve ballot access in many of the individual states while the two major party candidates "waltz nationwide." Some states require over 25,000, 50,000, 75,000 and 100,000 to 158,000 signatures of legitimate registered voters just to qualify on individual state ballots. Moore hopes to qualify on 20 states this election year, ten more than they achieved in 2004.

Moore said, compounding the ballot access problem, is the press and media's blackout of alternative candidates, and the government's denial of access to public debates by the FEC Debate Commission, run by Democrats and Republicans.

Moore's predecessor in the Socialist Party, Walter Brown, was the presidential candidate in 2004, and was initially denied access to Colorado's ballot because he submitted his papers on the deadline of Monday, July 4th, a holiday, thus the state said he should have submitted it the Friday before. Brown filed suit, won the first phase and was put ln the 2004 ballot, and three and one-half years later, in December, 2007, the courts ruled in his favor and he was paid over $48,000 as reimbursement for attorney fees. Brown lost more money during that time in airplane flights, etc in fighting his case from his home-state of Oregon. Brown also did not gain ballot access in New Hampshire four years ago either.

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