This is an urgent action item! There is currently an effort under way to strip third party and independent candidates of the ability to get on the ballot by making it nearly impossible to hire petitioners:
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?091+sum+HB2642 Pay particular attention to the following clause: "ยง 24.2-1004.1. Payment or receipt of compensation for circulating petitions or registering voters; penalty. ... Any person who, upon a fee-per-signature basis or upon a basis related to the number of signatures obtained, pays or offers to pay compensation to another person, or receives or agrees to receive compensation from another person for (i) circulating any petition required by this title that is filed with or transmitted to the State Board or other appropriate public office, or (ii) assisting any individual in completing or submitting a voter registration application or absentee voter application is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor." Anyone who has ever participated in a petition drive knows how hard it is for alternative candidates to get on the ballot under the law as it is already. This new rule will squash future campaigns before they even start. The bill has passed the House of Delegates and is now on its way through the Senate. Let's stop it there. Presumably, it will be referred to the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee. ********************************************************** ACTION NUMBER ONE: Please take a minute to send a message to your Senator, and the Senators on the entire P&E Committee. You can find your own Senator by going to the "Who's My Legislator" page: http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform Once you enter your address and press 'submit', it will show you your General Assembly members and provide links to email them directly. ********************************************************** ACTION NUMBER TWO: Take another few minutes to send messages to all of the Senators on the entire P&E Committee: Senator Janet D. Howell <[email protected]> Senator Stephen H. Martin <[email protected]> Senator Kenneth W. Stolle <[email protected]> Senator R. Creigh Deeds <[email protected]> Senator Mary Margaret Whipple <[email protected]> Senator Mark D. Obenshain <[email protected]> Senator Phillip P. Puckett <[email protected]> Senator John S. Edwards <[email protected]> Senator Harry B. Blevins <[email protected]> Senator A. Donald McEachin <[email protected]> Senator J. Chapman Petersen <[email protected]> Senator Ralph K. Smith <[email protected]> Senator George L. Barker <[email protected]> Senator Ralph S. Northam <[email protected]> Senator Jill Holtzman Vogel <[email protected]> http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?091+com+S8 ********************************************************** Here is suggested text for you to use in your own email to your state Senator and Delegate: http://lpva.com/HTML/HB-2642.html -- end -- ############################################################# Have an announcement you'd like to post? SCC members & many committee heads are all authorized to post; or you may send your announcements to the List Master: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=announcement>. ################################################## Unsubscribe: Send an email to [email protected] with no subject and "Unsubscribe Announce" as the text. ############################################################# Libertarian Party of Virginia http://www.LPVA.com Phone: 703-715-6230
