I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1755

To enforce the guarantees of the first, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments

to the Constitution of the United States by prohibiting certain devices

used to deny the right to participate in certain elections.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 21, 1993

Mr. PENNY (for himself, Mr. HASTINGS, and Mr. GUNDERSON) introduced the

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration

A BILL

To enforce the guarantees of the first, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments to the Constitution of the United

States by prohibiting certain devices used to deny the

right to participate in certain elections.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fair Elections Act of

5 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress makes the following

8 findings:
2

•HR 1755 IH

1 (1) Voting participation in the United States is

2 lower than in any other advanced industrialized

3 democracy.

4 (2) The rights of eligible citizens to seek elec5 tion to office, vote for candidates of their choice and

6 associate for the purpose of taking part in elections,

7 including the right to create and develop new politi8 cal parties, are fundamental in a democracy. The

9 rights of citizens to participate in the election proc10 ess, provided in and derived from the first and four11 teenth amendments to the Constitution, having con12 sistently been promoted and protected by the Fed13 eral Government. These rights include the right to

14 cast an effective vote and the right to associate for

15 the advancement of political beliefs, which includes

16 the ‘‘constitutional right . . . to create and develop

17 new political parties.’’ Norman v. Reed, 502

18 U.S.lll, 112 S.Ct. 699 (1992). It is the duty of

19 the Federal Government to see that these rights are

20 not impaired in elections for Federal office.

21 (3) Certain restrictions on access to the ballot

22 impair the ability of citizens to exercise these rights

23 and have a direct and damaging effect on citizens’

24 participation in the electoral process.
3

•HR 1755 IH

1 (4) Many States unduly restrict access to the

2 ballot by nonmajor party candidates and nonmajor

3 political parties by means of such devices as exces4 sive petition signature requirements, insufficient pe5 titioning periods, unconstitutionally early petition fil6 ing deadlines, petition signature distribution criteria,

7 discriminatory petition signature fees, and limita8 tions on eligibility to circulate and sign petitions.

9 (5) Many States require political parties to poll

10 an unduly high number of votes or to register an un11 duly high number of voters as a precondition for re12 maining on the ballot.

13 (6) In 1983, the Supreme Court ruled unconsti14 tutional an Ohio law requiring a nonmajor party

15 candidate for President to qualify for the general

16 election ballot earlier than major party candidates.

17 This Supreme Court decision, Anderson v.

18 Celebrezze, 460 U.S. 780 (1983) has been followed

19 by many lower courts in challenges by nonmajor par20 ties and candidates to early petition filing deadlines.

21 See, e.g., Stoddard v. Quinn, 593 F. Supp. 300

22 (D.Me. 1984); Cripps v. Seneca County Board of

23 Elections, 629 F. Supp. 1335 (N.D.Oh. 1985); Lib24 ertarian Party of Nevada v. Swackhamer, 638 F.

25 Supp. 565 (D. Nev. 1986); Cromer v. State of South
4

•HR 1755 IH

1 Carolina, 917 F.2d 819 (4th Cir. 1990); New Alli2 ance Party of Alabama v. Hand, 933 F. 2d 1568

3 (11th Cir. 1991).

4 (7) In 1992, 26 States still required nonmajor

5 party candidates for President to qualify for the bal6 lot before the second major party national conven7 tion (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware,

8 Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine,

9 Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, North

10 Carolina, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey,

11 Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Da12 kota, Texas, Washington, West Virginia). Nine of

13 these States required nonmajor party candidates to

14 qualify before the first major party national conven15 tion (Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Michigan,

16 Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas).

17 (8) In 1992, nonmajor party candidates for

18 President had to obtain 806,401 petition signatures

19 to be listed on the ballots of all 50 States and the

20 District of Columbia—32 times more signatures

21 than the 25,500 required of Democratic Party can22 didates and 15 times more signatures than the

23 54,250 required of Republican Party candidates. To

24 be listed on the ballot in all 50 States and the Dis25 trict of Columbia with a party label, nonmajor party
5

•HR 1755 IH

1 candidates for President had to obtain approxi2 mately 649,092 petition signatures and 79,136 reg3 istrants. In 1992, 32 of the 41 States that held

4 Presidential primaries required no signatures of

5 major party candidates for President (Arkansas,

6 California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia,

7 Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland,

8 Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi,

9 Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico,

10 North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon,

11 Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Ten12 nessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia,

13 Wisconsin). Only two States required no signatures

14 of nonmajor party candidates for President (Arkan15 sas and Louisiana; Louisiana, however, requires a

16 $500 filing fee).

17 (9) The number of petition signatures required

18 by the States to list a major party candidate for

19 Senate on the ballot in 1992 ranged from zero to

20 15,111. The number of petition signatures required

21 to list a nonmajor party candidate for Senate ranged

22 from zero to 180,935. Thirty-one States required no

23 signatures of major party candidates for Senate

24 (Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut,

25 Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Ken-
6

•HR 1755 IH

1 tucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Min2 nesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska,

3 Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North

4 Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas,

5 Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming). Only

6 one State required no signatures of nonmajor party

7 candidates for Senate, provided they were willing to

8 be listed on the ballot without a party label (Louisi9 ana, although a $600 filing fee is required, and to

10 run with a party label, a candidate must register

11 106,146 voters into his or her party).

12 (10) The number of petition signatures required

13 by the States to list a major party candidate for

14 Congress on the ballot in 1992 ranged from zero to

15 2,000. The number of petition signatures required to

16 list a nonmajor party candidate for Congress ranged

17 from zero to 12,252. Thirty-one States required no

18 signatures of major party candidates for Congress

19 (Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut,

20 Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Ken21 tucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi,

22 Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hamp23 shire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Or24 egon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington,

25 West Virginia, Wyoming). Only one State required
7

•HR 1755 IH

1 no signatures of nonmajor party candidates for Con2 gress, provided they were willing to be listed on the

3 ballot without a party label (Louisiana, although a

4 $600 filing fee is required).

5 (11) Eight States required additional signatures

6 to list a nonmajor party candidate for President on

7 the ballot with a party label (Alabama, Arizona,

8 Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Ten9 nessee). Thirteen States required additional signa10 tures to list a nonmajor party candidate for Senate

11 or Congress on the ballot with a party label (Ala12 bama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Idaho, Hawaii,

13 Kansas, Louisiana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio,

14 Oregon, Tennessee). Two of these States (Ohio and

15 Tennessee, respectively) required 5,000 signatures

16 and 25 signatures, respectively, to list a nonmajor

17 party candidate for President or Senate on the ballot

18 in 1992, but required 34,777 signatures and 19,759

19 signatures, respectively, to list the candidate on the

20 ballot with her or his party label. One State (Califor21 nia) required a nonmajor party to have 78,992 reg22 istrants in order to have its candidate for President

23 listed on the ballot with a party label.

24 (12) In 1992 one State (Arizona) required

25 nonmajor party candidates for President or Senate
8

•HR 1755 IH

1 to obtain 10,555 signatures in 10 days, but allowed

2 major party candidates for Senate 45 days to obtain

3 approximately half that number of signatures, and

4 required no signatures of major party candidates for

5 President. Another State (California) required

6 nonmajor party candidates for President or Senate

7 to obtain 134,781 signatures in 105 days, but re8 quired major party candidates for Senate to obtain

9 only 65 signatures in 105 days, and required no sig10 natures of major party candidates for President. An11 other State (Texas) required nonmajor party can12 didates for President or Senate to obtain 38,900 sig13 natures in 75 days, and required no signatures of

14 major party candidates for President or Senate.

15 (13) Two States required all nonmajor party

16 candidates to pay fees of ten and five cents per peti17 tion signature, while requiring no fees or signatures

18 of major party candidates (Florida and North Caro19 lina, respectively).

20 (14) Seven States require nonmajor party can21 didates for President or Senate to collect a certain

22 number or percentage of their petition signatures in

23 each congressional district or in a specified number

24 of congressional districts (Michigan, Missouri, Ne25 braska, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina,
9

•HR 1755 IH

1 Virginia). Only three of these States impose a like

2 requirement on major party candidates for President

3 or Senate (Michigan, New York, Virginia).

4 (15) Twenty States restrict the circulation of

5 petitions for nonmajor party candidates to residents

6 of those States (California, Colorado, Connecticut,

7 District of Columbia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Michi8 gan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New

9 York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas,

10 Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin). Three States

11 restrict the circulation of petitions for nonmajor

12 party candidates to the county or congressional dis13 trict where the circulator lives (Kansas, Nebraska,

14 Virginia).

15 (16) Four States prohibit people who voted in

16 a primary election from signing petitions for

17 nonmajor party candidates (Nebraska, New York,

18 Texas, West Virginia). Twelve States restrict the

19 signing of petitions to people who indicate intent to

20 support or vote for the candidate or party (Califor21 nia, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland,

22 New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Or23 egon, Utah). Five of these 12 States require no peti24 tions of major party candidates (Delaware, Mary25 land, North Carolina, Oregon, Utah), and only one
10

•HR 1755 IH

1 of the six remaining States restricts the signing of

2 petitions for major party candidates to people who

3 indicate intent to support or vote for the candidate

4 or party (New Jersey).

5 (17) Restrictions on the ability of citizens to ex6 ercise the rights identified in this subsection have

7 disproportionately impaired participation in the elec8 toral process by various groups, including racial

9 minorities.

10 (18) The establishment of fair and uniform na11 tional standards for access to the ballot in elections

12 for Federal office would remove barriers to the par13 ticipation of citizens in the electoral process and

14 thereby facilitate such participation and maximize

15 the rights identified in this subsection.

16 (19) The Congress has authority, under the

17 provisions of the Constitution of the United States

18 in sections 4 and 8 of article I, section 1 of article

19 II, article VI, the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fif20 teenth amendments, and other provisions of the

21 Constitution of the United States, to protect and

22 promote the exercise of the rights identified in this

23 subsection.

24 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
11

•HR 1755 IH

1 (1) to establish fair and uniform standards reg2 ulating access to the ballot by eligible citizens who

3 desire to seek election to Federal office and political

4 parties, bodies, and groups which desire to take part

5 in elections for Federal office; and

6 (2) to maximize the participation of eligible citi7 zens in elections for Federal office.

8 SEC. 3. BALLOT ACCESS RIGHTS.

9 (a) An individual shall have the right to be placed

10 as a candidate on, or to have such individual’s political

11 party, body, or group affiliation in connection with such

12 candidacy placed on, a ballot or similar voting materials

13 to be used in a Federal election, if such individual presents

14 a petition stating in substance that the signatories desire

15 such individual’s name and political party, body or group

16 affiliation, if any, to be placed on the ballot or other simi17 lar voting materials to be used in the Federal election with

18 respect to which such rights are to be exercised, and

19 (1) with respect to a Federal election for the of20 fice of President, Vice President, or Senator, such

21 petition has a number of signatures of persons quali22 fied to vote for such office equal to one-tenth of one

23 percent of the number of persons who voted in the

24 most recent previous Federal election for such office
12

•HR 1755 IH

1 in the State, or 1,000 signatures, whichever is

2 greater;

3 (2) with respect to a Federal election for the of4 fice of Representative in, or Delegate or Resident

5 Commissioner to, the Congress, such petition has a

6 number of signatures of persons qualified to vote for

7 such office equal to one-half of one percent of the

8 number of persons who voted in the most recent pre9 vious Federal election for such office, or, if there

10 was no previous Federal election for such office,

11 1,000 signatures;

12 (3) with respect to a Federal election the date

13 of which was fixed 345 or more days in advance,

14 such petition was circulated during a period begin15 ning on the 345th day and ending on the 75th day

16 before the date of the election;

17 (4) with respect to a Federal election the date

18 of which was fixed less than 345 days in advance,

19 such petition was circulated during a period estab20 lished by the State holding the election, or, if no

21 such period was established, during a period begin22 ning on the day after the date the election was

23 scheduled and ending on the tenth day before the

24 date of the election, provided, however, that the

25 number of signatures required under paragraph (1)
13

•HR 1755 IH

or (2) shall be reduced by 1 1 ⁄270th for each day less

2 than 270 in such period.

3 (b) An individual shall have the right to be placed

4 as a candidate on, or to have such individual’s political

5 party, body, or group affiliation in connection with such

6 candidacy placed on, a ballot or similar voting materials

7 to be used in a Federal election, without having to satisfy

8 any requirement relating to a petition under subsection

9 (a), if that or another individual, as a candidate of that

10 political party, body, or group, received one percent of the

11 votes cast in the most recent general Federal election for

12 President or Senator in that State.

13 SEC. 4. RULEMAKING.

14 The Attorney General shall make rules to carry out

15 this Act.

16 SEC. 5. GENERAL DEFINITIONS.

17 As used in this Act—

18 (1) the term ‘‘Federal election’’ means a gen19 eral or special election for the office of—

20 (A) President or Vice President;

21 (B) Senator; or

22 (C) Representative in, or Delegate or Resi23 dent Commissioner to, the Congress;

24 (2) the term ‘‘State’’ means a State of the

25 United States, the District of Columbia, the Com-
14

•HR 1755 IH

1 monwealth of Puerto Rico, and any other territory

2 or possession of the United States; and

3 (3) the term ‘‘individual’’ means an individual

4 who has the qualifications required by law of a per5 son who holds the office for which such individual

6 seeks to be a candidate.

Æ