A lawsuit and bills in the state General Assembly may allow the Moderate Party of Rhode Island, a year-old political organization, to gain official recognition by the next election.
Under current state law, a party can gain official status by collecting signatures of voters equal to 5 percent of the turnout of the previous presidential or gubernatorial election. The signatures can be gathered only during an election year. Parties are also recognized if they fielded a candidate for president or governor who got at least 5 percent of the vote.
Rhode Island has "the most restrictive ballot access laws in the United States," said Ken Block, chairman of the Moderate Party.
The party's lawsuit, filed in federal court, challenges the constitutionality of the state statute. The Rhode Island American Civil Liberties Union filed the case, which Block said is still in its early stages, on behalf of the group, whose platform targets "the four Es:" the economy, ethics, education and the environment.
Block said the state needs to "get our house in order" and not waste time on divisive social issues such as abortion and gay marriage.
Robert Kando, who is being sued by the group in his position as the executive director of the Rhode Island Board of Elections, said he did not find the current law unconstitutional. The roughly 23,500 voters' signatures required to meet the 5-percent threshold is "not an outrageous amount" to require for a group seeking recognition as a statewide party, he said. The lawsuit also names Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis and Attorney General Patrick Lynch '87.
"The statute that the Moderate Party has an issue with is a well thought-out statute and it's a reasonable statute," said Mike Healey '87, spokesman for the attorney general. He said case law shows that states can require organizations to show a "significant modicum of support" to be granted the privileges of a political party.
Bills introduced in the General Assembly this month seek to lower the signature threshold to 1 percent and eliminate the requirement that signatures be collected no earlier than Jan. 1 of an election year.
State Sen. Ed O'Neill, I-Dist. 17, who co-sponsored the Senate bill on behalf of the Moderate Party, said third parties deserve access to what is basically a "one-party system" in the General Assembly. Currently, only 5 of 38 state senators and 13 of 75 representatives are Republicans.
"There's no checks and balances within the legislature to reel legislation back toward the middle," Block agreed.
State Sen. David Bates, R-Dist. 32, who introduced the bill, said, "Rhode Island has a very, very difficult situation. It's almost impossible for a new party to get started." Bates was endorsed by the Moderate Party in November's election, as was Rep. Rodney Driver, D-Dist. 39, who introduced an identical bill in the House.
Current law places "very demanding requirements," including a short time and "inordinate number of signatures," on new parties, Driver said.
Changing the law would also give the Moderate Party the chance to raise money earlier, especially if the start date for collecting signatures is removed, Block said.
Current law means that his group would lose out on a year or more of fundraising that the established parties get, he said. The Moderate Party operated as a political action committee during last year's election, supporting Democratic, Republican and independent candidates.
The preliminary start date for the trial is Mar. 16, though Block said it probably wouldn't begin that early. Bates said he was "optimistic" about the Senate bill's passage, but added that composing the state budget is taking up most of the legislature's time.
