Support minor party bill HB0626 / SB0288

Whereas, current Tennessee law grants legally recognized political parties special privileges including ballot access for their nominees, printing party labels on the ballot, and the ability to nominate candidates by primary election;

Whereas, the state has set the qualification standard for new political parties so high that only the Democrat and Republican Parties meet it, even though other political parties routinely run candidates in Tennessee;

Whereas, the state argues that the cost of primary elections is the reason why it should be difficult to qualify as a political party, yet it makes no other provision for minor parties to gain the other rights to ballot access for their nominees and ballot party labels;

Whereas, the 6th Circuit Appeals Court (which includes Tennessee) has in the case reported as 462 F 3d 579, Libertarian Party of Ohio v. Blackwell, declared Ohio’s ballot access laws for new parties to be unconstitutional though they are less restrictive than the ballot access laws in Tennessee;

We, the undersigned, call upon the Tennessee state legislature to pass HB0626 / SB0288 into law during this legislative session to allow minor parties ballot access and ballot party labels for their nominees, noting that this bill will impose no financial burden upon the government because the nominees will not be selected by primary election.