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New York adopted more strict ballot access rules ahead of the 2020 election, making it harder for minor political parties to qualify.
Strict N.Y. ballot access rules upheld, imperiling minor parties
Feb 11 2021
One minor political party is fighting to remain on the ballot in New York, but its efforts — and those of other alternatives to the Democratic and Republican parties — were dealt a severe blow this week.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld a lower court's ruling, rejecting a challenge to New York's new ballot qualification rules. The Serve American Movement (also known as the SAM Party) claimed the rule change, which increased the number of votes political parties need in order to qualify for the ballot, violated its members' First and Fourteenth amendment rights.
Democracy reform advocates argue limiting ballot access for third parties only perpetuates polarization and the two-party duopoly in America. The share of voters who don't identify with either major party has trended upward over the past two decades and is expected to continue to grow.
<p>Last April, New York increased the vote share political parties must receive in order to qualify for the ballot, to 130,000 votes or 2 percent of the overall ballots cast in presidential and gubernatorial elections. State officials say this higher threshold will help declutter the ballot and prevent voter confusion. Previously, political parties only needed to secure 50,000 votes every four years to qualify.<br></p><p><p style="text-align: center;" id="sufn"><a style="font-weight: bold;margin:40px auto;font-size:2rem" href="https://thefulcrum.us/st/newsletters">Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter </a></p></p><p>The <a href="https://thefulcrum.us/big-picture/sam-party" target="_self">SAM Party</a> became an officially recognized political party in New York after its gubernatorial ticket received 55,000 votes in 2018. The minor party describes itself as "a new kind of candidate-focused, process-driven political party, rather than one predicated on shared substantive policy positions or ideologies."</p><p>With its status in jeopardy, the SAM Party decided to challenge the state's rule change in federal court, arguing it violates the U.S. Constitution.</p><p>But in September the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that it "failed to demonstrate that allowing the amended party qualification requirements to take effect would violate their Constitutional rights, otherwise cause irreparable harm to the plaintiffs, or be against the public interest."</p><p>The SAM Party appealed this ruling but the 2nd Circuit affirmed the district court's ruling.</p><p>"We hold that Appellants are not likely to succeed on the merits of their First Amendment claim because the burden imposed by the presidential-election requirement is not severe and justified by the State's interest in uncluttered ballots, effective electoral competition, and the preservation of resources dedicated to public financing of elections," the court's three-judge panel wrote in the opinion.</p><p><div class="x12"><div class="htlad-Desktop_Content_Banner"></div></div></p><p>Because the SAM Party chose not to participate in the 2020 election, it failed to meet the new qualifications. Only two minor parties in New York state, the Conservative Party and the Working Families Party, retained their statuses following last year's election.</p><p>David Jolly, executive chairman of the SAM Party, said the party is evaluating its next legal move and has not given up its plans to again become a credible party in the state.</p><p>"Fundamentally for New Yorkers it's a sad day for democracy because what the governor and the legislature have done is they've cut down on choices for New Yorkers," said Michael Volpe, chairman of SAM New York.</p>
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"Growing dissatisfaction with the two-party system and a frustration with government and the partisan entities that control it has fueled the growth of the independent voting bloc," writes Reilly.
Four ways the Biden administration should reach out to independents
Feb 05 2021
Reilly is a professor of public affairs at Arizona State University. He was chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education from 2017 to last year.
<p>
So-called independent voters, or those who do not identify as Republicans or Democrats, <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/15370/party-affiliation.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">made up</a> more than two-fifths of the electorate as the new year began.
</p><p>
Eight years into the 21st century, these voters began determining the outcome of presidential elections. Independents helped elect Barack Obama in 2008, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls/#USP00p1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">preferring him</a> by 8 percentage points. In 2016, they changed course and backed Donald Trump <a href="https://www.cnn.com/election/2016/results/exit-polls" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">by a 4-point margin.</a> Then last fall, they broke for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris <a href="https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/exit-polls/president/national-results" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">by 13 points</a> — delivering the margins of victory necessary for that ticket to secure the decisive electoral votes of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia and Arizona.
</p><p>
And in last month's twin Senate runoffs in Georgia, independents broke for the winners, Raphael Warnock and Join Ossoff, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/exit-polls/senate-runoff/georgia" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">by 4 points,</a> fueling the narrow victories that have delivered control of the Senate to the Democratic Party.
</p><p>
So it is becoming increasingly clear that independents are key in determining winners and losers at the ballot box.
</p><p>
The rise of the independent voter — with no formal name, no party affiliation and no common ideological doctrine — is increasingly becoming a volatile force in American politics. They now have the power to disrupt the status quo and drive structural reform. <a href="https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/03/07/millennials-in-adulthood/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Half of millennials,</a> <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2018/03/20/1-trends-in-party-affiliation-among-demographic-groups/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">37 percent of Latinos,</a> <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2018/03/20/1-trends-in-party-affiliation-among-demographic-groups/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">and 27 percent of African Americans</a> identify as independents.
</p><p><p style="text-align: center;" id="sufn"><a style="font-weight: bold;margin:40px auto;font-size:2rem" href="https://thefulcrum.us/st/newsletters">Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter </a></p></p><p>
The Biden administration would be wise to reach out to this growing and diverse electorate and try to understand what motivates these voters. The assumption that they have wholeheartedly converted to the Democratic Party would be a major mistake.
</p><p>
Growing dissatisfaction with the two-party system and a frustration with government and the partisan entities that control it has fueled the growth of the independent voting bloc — yet these people are often given second-class status and are subject to subtle and not-so-subtle voter suppression.<br>
</p><p>
Currently, independents are barred or restricted from primary voting in half the states, And a sizable number of independents are locked out of presidential primaries and caucus voting. They're still widely dismissed as a sideshow to the nation's serious political action, rather than seen as a diverse force that is making a statement of noncompliance with the system driven by the two parties.
</p><p>
There are several steps that the Biden administration can undertake to address these unaffiliated voters.
</p><p><div class="x12"><div class="htlad-Desktop_Content_Banner"></div></div></p><p>
First, it should reach out and listen to the concerns of the independent voter. A <a href="https://independentvoting.org/survey-report/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">recent survey</a> found 81 percent of them view the coronavirus crisis as having "made the problem of partisanship in our government clearer and more critical to address."
</p><p>
Second, the new president should bring independents into his administration, appointing them to key policy-making positions. It is one thing to look to create unity between Democrat and Republican policymakers. It is another to form a government that is accurately representative of the state of the electorate by signaling that the White House is attuned to the public disgust with partisanship. Period.
</p><p>
Third, the president should use his leverage over his party to press the Democrats Party to open future presidential primaries and caucuses to independents. The Supreme Court has recognized the right of political parties to determine who is eligible to vote in these nominating contests, whether or not state law agrees. And there is a need to better understand how voter registration laws compel partisanship: Members of the parties enforce discipline by threatening primary challenges against any of their elected officials who break with a party dictate.
</p><p>
Lastly, the administration should look into restructuring the Federal Election Commission to make it a nonpartisan rather than bipartisan regulator of campaign finance law.
</p><p>
Public faith in the electoral process has been rocked by recent events. To restore and expand that faith across the political spectrum, there must be demonstrable changes that lift voting and governing above and outside partisan control.
</p><p>
The continuing flight of millions of voters from the Republican and Democratic parties is reshaping the nation's political landscape in ways no one can control or even predict. It threatens the very basis upon which we have long analyzed campaigns and elections. Identifying and wooing the independent voter should rank among the most urgent challenges facing candidates, campaigns and political professionals.
</p><div>
</div><p>
More importantly, the country is trying — in jagged and conflictual ways — to define our future and our priorities. Independent voters have an important role to play in shaping that future without having to bend to the practices and partisan divides of the past.
</p>
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