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Announcement :: Elections & Legislation
Democracy needs YOUR help! Current rating: 0
11 Jul 2006
On Monday, June 26th, The Illinois Green Party filed over 39,200 petition signatures with the Illinois State Board of Elections - more than 14,000 signatures over the legal requirement.
Despite this colossal effort, however, we now have another fight on our hands, as the Democratic Party machine is still looking to bar us from the November ballot! On Monday, July 3rd, their operatives filed objections to the State Board of Elections, seeking to invalidate our petitions.
Despite having the advantages of incumbency, a campaign fund stuffed with large corporate donations, and a well-oiled political machine, the Democratic Party establishment apparently doesn't want to risk letting the voters have a chance to vote Green.

This is an outrage: The objections to our petitions are an orchestrated attack against a fundamental democratic right. They constitute an attempt to take away what many Illinois voters have demanded: more (and better) choices on the ballot this November.
Dear Friend,
I am sending you this urgent appeal to help strike a blow for democracy, and the right of the people of Illinois to vote for the candidates of their choice.

Last Fall, the Illinois Green Party decided to run its first-ever full slate of candidates for all Constitutional offices in the State. We knew going into the campaign that it would be a difficult challenge. The Democratic and Republican Party leadership in this State have collaborated to give Illinois one of the most restrictive ballot access laws in the nation, requiring "new" political parties to collect 25,000 petition signatures from registered voters in just 90 days in order to run candidates for statewide office. The "established" party candidates only have to collect 5,000.

Nonetheless, we decided to make the effort to overcome this barrier because we firmly believe that the policies we are fighting for – to combat global warming and high energy prices; for a fiscally responsible budget, based on fair and equitable taxation; for quality jobs, universal health care and more – are badly needed in Illinois. As my campaign theme puts it, "The Times Demand Change."

So we boldly took on the Herculean effort to get on the ballot. For the past three months, volunteers from all over Illinois spent countless unpaid hours collecting the signatures required to get our State slate on the November ballot. We hit the streets and knocked on doors – myself included. We ducked out of rainstorms, got chased out of parking lots and got hot, sweaty, thirsty and sunburned working the crowds at parades and fairs. But we worked our tails off and got the signatures we needed, always being careful to ensure that the signer was a registered Illinois voter.

On Monday, June 26th, we filed over 39,200 petition signatures with the Illinois State Board of Elections - more than 14,000 signatures over the legal requirement.

Despite this colossal effort, however, we now have another fight on our hands, as the Democratic Party machine is still looking to bar us from the November ballot! On Monday, July 3rd, their operatives filed objections to the State Board of Elections, seeking to invalidate our petitions.
Despite having the advantages of incumbency, a campaign fund stuffed with large corporate donations, and a well-oiled political machine, the Democratic Party establishment apparently doesn't want to risk letting the voters have a chance to vote Green.

This is an outrage: The objections to our petitions are an orchestrated attack against a fundamental democratic right. They constitute an attempt to take away what many Illinois voters have demanded: more (and better) choices on the ballot this November.

That is why we are asking you today to help protect your right to choose who you want in office – rather than allowing one of the corporate-sponsored parties to restrict your vote before the election can even begin.

Illinois Democratic Party spokesman Steve Brown has told the media that they challenged our petitions because "everybody ought to play by the rules." What he failed to mention, of course, is that the "rules" he’s talking about are their "rules," the rules of an uneven playing field. Such statements are also disingenuous. The Democratic Party machine knows full well that we have valid signatures far in excess of the number required. And they know full well that the signatures gathered reflect the will of the majority of people in this State who support genuine democracy and want to see more choices on the ballot.
That’s not what the Democrats’ attack is about. This attack is intended to keep us off the ballot, at all costs – or, alternatively, to keep us so tied down with the petition challenge that our time and limited financial resources will be diverted from the real work of the campaign.

The Democratic Party machine realizes that this challenge is an opportunity to flex their corporate spending power. They can’t beat us on the merits, so they are hoping that we won’t have the volunteers or the money to withstand what could prove to be a lengthy battle. These unfounded objections to our petitions are not only going to cost the Illinois taxpayers money – since each petition may end up being reviewed, line by line by a State-employed judge – it will also cost our grassroots party thousands of dollars in expenses, and possibly legal fees. The Democratic Party machine is hoping to defeat us by wearing us down and outspending us.
We simply cannot allow this to happen. Please don’t let the Democratic Party machine get away with this. Please don’t let them obliterate the months of hard work that Green Party volunteers expended to give Illinois voters a real choice this November.

Please help us fight this attack on democracy.
In order to survive this challenge, the Illinois Green Party and I are asking you to contribute the funds necessary to defend your democratic right to decide who appears on the ballot.
We are confident that we can beat back this challenge – but we are counting on voters like you to stand up for democracy. I urge you and implore you: If you want to protect the rights of the people to vote for the candidates of their choice, please donate to the Illinois Green Party’s fight to stay on the ballot, today. We need your help in this fight – and, to be blunt, we need it now.

All contributions to the Illinois Green Party and its candidates come from individuals. Because we believe in clean government and government of, by and for the people, we do not accept corporate contributions. That is why donations from civic-minded concerned citizens like you are vitally needed to help us survive this petition challenge.
Nothing could be more fundamental to democracy than the right of the people to choose who they get to vote for. Please help the Illinois Green Party in this crucial battle. Whatever donation you can make today will be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,

Rich Whitney
Candidate for Governor
Illinois Green Party
www.whitneyforgov.org

To Donate please visit www.ILGP.org
or send check/money order to Illinois Green Party P.O. Box 623, Urbana, IL 61801

Thank you!
See also:
http://www.ilgp.org
http://www.whitneyforgov.org

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