Bradley in DC
09-21-2007, 07:31 PM
Dear fellow Ron Paul supporters,
Now is the time to get active to get Dr. Paul on the ballot in DC. Main points, only DC registered voters would likely to be eligible to circulate petitions here to get Republican signatures. Most of the rest of it is pretty standard. I'll go over that when we get that far if people have questions on the following. Out of towners can accompany us when we go door-to-door but only registered DC voters can collect the signatures because they must sign the affidavit saying they witnessed the signature. (We will need to keep lists of confirmed and potential Ron Paul supporters for a Get Out The Vote (GOTV) effort on election day.)
Importantly, the date to pick up the presidential nominating petitions to get Dr. Paul on the primary ballot is October 12th. The Board of Elections and Ethics is running Brown Bag Lunch Training Sessions for Nominating Petition Circulators (that would be us) in room 280 of the One Judiciary Square Building, 441-4th St NW at 12.15 pm (for 45 minutes) on these dates (all Tuesdays):
September 25th
October 9th & 23rd,
November 6th & 20th, and
December 4th & 18th. (bring your own lunch)
We're going to need to have a Ron Paul Meetup Scheduled for these!
Ok, so here's the plan. I have an Excel database of all of the registered Republicans in DC. We need to start going door to door selectively to registered Republicans in DC, poll them of their possible support for Dr. Paul (importantly keeping a list of definite and possible supporters) and leaving information about Dr. Paul and the DC Meetup groups for those we don't catch. Then, starting on October 12th, we have a Meetup group, have all of our people sign the petitions (under EXCRUCIATING guidance from yours truly--we are not messing this up!) and then go back and get the signatures (following all of the rules, dotting all of the "I"s and crossing all of the "T"s) from the supporters we canvassed. We need to hit up the Reason Happy Hours, AFF events, etc. as well (bringing our lists of registered Republicans to make sure all names and addresses, etc., match EXACTLY).
Signature requirements: Delegates and Alternates to the Republican National Convention
1000 or 1% (whichever is less) of the registered voters in the same party as the candidate.
http://www.dcboee.org/information/info_can/sig_req.shtm
There are 30,020 registered Republicans in DC (on my list), so we would need only 300 valid Republican signatures (if my math is right!) to qualify. Since it is customary for big law firms to justify their lucrative retainers to the well-funded campaigns by challenging petitions to keep rivals off of the ballot, we will need to file as many valid signatures as allowed (I'm checking on this number).
Obviously, the official campaign is going to have to choose whom it wants as delegate candidates and alternate delegate candidates for us to circulate the petitions. If you would like to be one, please let me know. Unless the rules have changed (I'm checking on that), delegate candidates and alternate delegate candidates must be a registered Republican residing in D.C. for at least one year prior to filing nomination petition.
Process (2004): Each presidential candidate shall file a complete slate or 32 persons (16 delegates and 16 alternates) before receiving nominating petitions. Each person listed on the slate must provide the candidate a Statement of Acceptance and indicated permission to use his or her name in that capacity, which the candidate must file. The delegate is pledged to that presidential candidate until released by the candidate. Id. at II (C).
Slates of delegates and alternates shall qualify by submitting a valid petition of at least 1,000 duly registered and qualified Republican voters from D.C. or one (1) percent of the duly registered members of the Republican Party, whichever is less. Petitions must be filed on behalf of the entire slate with the chairman of the D.C. Republican Party no later than sixty (60) days before the Caucus (December 12, 2003). Only one nominating petition for each presidential candidate is required. Id. at II (D).
Petition Circulation Guidelines (amended from the ANC one):
1. THE CIRCULATOR MUST WATCH EACH VOTER SIGN HIS OR HER NAME TO THE PETITION. This is essential because the circulator must sign an affidavit that he or she personally witnessed each voter signature.
2. The address at which the signer is registered to vote and the date signed must be entered on the petition form in order for the signature to be counted. If the signer fails to enter his or her registration address and date signed, the circulator may enter this information on the petition.
3. A registered voter signing a nominating petition should print or type his or her name and the address from which registered to vote next to the signatures. the voter mush also SIGN HIS OR HER OWN NAME.
4. Signatures must be written--not printed--and must be dated when the signed in order to be counted.
5. Each person signing a NOMINATING PETITION must already be a registered voter in the District at the address on the Board's record AT THE TIME HE OR SHE SIGNS THE PETITION, or FILE A CHANGE OF ADDRESS with the Board within ten days after a challenge to the nominating petition filed. The signature of a new voter who fills out a Voter Registration Form at the time the petition is signed will not be counted as valid. This provisions applies to nominating petitions only.
6. [Must be a registered voter in DC (off hand assumption based on adapting from the ANC guidelines).]
7. A person may not sign a petition for another individual.
8. A person must sign the petition using the [exact same] name under which he or she is registered to vote. Failure to do so could invalidate the signature. [I have a list of the registered Republicans in DC. We will check the exact names (name middle initial suffix, etc.) and exact addresses on our petitions as those with the DC database.]
9. Voters unable to sign their names may make their mark in the space for signature. The signature will not be counted unless the person witnessing the mark attaches to the petition an affidavit attesting that he or she explained the contents of the petition to the signer and saw the signer's "marking" the petition.
10. [Not sure if this applies to the presidential nominating but will check.] A voter may sign the nominating petition of more than one candidate seeking nomination for the same office. However, a voter may not sign the petition for an individual candidate more than once.
Yours in liberty,
Brad
Now is the time to get active to get Dr. Paul on the ballot in DC. Main points, only DC registered voters would likely to be eligible to circulate petitions here to get Republican signatures. Most of the rest of it is pretty standard. I'll go over that when we get that far if people have questions on the following. Out of towners can accompany us when we go door-to-door but only registered DC voters can collect the signatures because they must sign the affidavit saying they witnessed the signature. (We will need to keep lists of confirmed and potential Ron Paul supporters for a Get Out The Vote (GOTV) effort on election day.)
Importantly, the date to pick up the presidential nominating petitions to get Dr. Paul on the primary ballot is October 12th. The Board of Elections and Ethics is running Brown Bag Lunch Training Sessions for Nominating Petition Circulators (that would be us) in room 280 of the One Judiciary Square Building, 441-4th St NW at 12.15 pm (for 45 minutes) on these dates (all Tuesdays):
September 25th
October 9th & 23rd,
November 6th & 20th, and
December 4th & 18th. (bring your own lunch)
We're going to need to have a Ron Paul Meetup Scheduled for these!
Ok, so here's the plan. I have an Excel database of all of the registered Republicans in DC. We need to start going door to door selectively to registered Republicans in DC, poll them of their possible support for Dr. Paul (importantly keeping a list of definite and possible supporters) and leaving information about Dr. Paul and the DC Meetup groups for those we don't catch. Then, starting on October 12th, we have a Meetup group, have all of our people sign the petitions (under EXCRUCIATING guidance from yours truly--we are not messing this up!) and then go back and get the signatures (following all of the rules, dotting all of the "I"s and crossing all of the "T"s) from the supporters we canvassed. We need to hit up the Reason Happy Hours, AFF events, etc. as well (bringing our lists of registered Republicans to make sure all names and addresses, etc., match EXACTLY).
Signature requirements: Delegates and Alternates to the Republican National Convention
1000 or 1% (whichever is less) of the registered voters in the same party as the candidate.
http://www.dcboee.org/information/info_can/sig_req.shtm
There are 30,020 registered Republicans in DC (on my list), so we would need only 300 valid Republican signatures (if my math is right!) to qualify. Since it is customary for big law firms to justify their lucrative retainers to the well-funded campaigns by challenging petitions to keep rivals off of the ballot, we will need to file as many valid signatures as allowed (I'm checking on this number).
Obviously, the official campaign is going to have to choose whom it wants as delegate candidates and alternate delegate candidates for us to circulate the petitions. If you would like to be one, please let me know. Unless the rules have changed (I'm checking on that), delegate candidates and alternate delegate candidates must be a registered Republican residing in D.C. for at least one year prior to filing nomination petition.
Process (2004): Each presidential candidate shall file a complete slate or 32 persons (16 delegates and 16 alternates) before receiving nominating petitions. Each person listed on the slate must provide the candidate a Statement of Acceptance and indicated permission to use his or her name in that capacity, which the candidate must file. The delegate is pledged to that presidential candidate until released by the candidate. Id. at II (C).
Slates of delegates and alternates shall qualify by submitting a valid petition of at least 1,000 duly registered and qualified Republican voters from D.C. or one (1) percent of the duly registered members of the Republican Party, whichever is less. Petitions must be filed on behalf of the entire slate with the chairman of the D.C. Republican Party no later than sixty (60) days before the Caucus (December 12, 2003). Only one nominating petition for each presidential candidate is required. Id. at II (D).
Petition Circulation Guidelines (amended from the ANC one):
1. THE CIRCULATOR MUST WATCH EACH VOTER SIGN HIS OR HER NAME TO THE PETITION. This is essential because the circulator must sign an affidavit that he or she personally witnessed each voter signature.
2. The address at which the signer is registered to vote and the date signed must be entered on the petition form in order for the signature to be counted. If the signer fails to enter his or her registration address and date signed, the circulator may enter this information on the petition.
3. A registered voter signing a nominating petition should print or type his or her name and the address from which registered to vote next to the signatures. the voter mush also SIGN HIS OR HER OWN NAME.
4. Signatures must be written--not printed--and must be dated when the signed in order to be counted.
5. Each person signing a NOMINATING PETITION must already be a registered voter in the District at the address on the Board's record AT THE TIME HE OR SHE SIGNS THE PETITION, or FILE A CHANGE OF ADDRESS with the Board within ten days after a challenge to the nominating petition filed. The signature of a new voter who fills out a Voter Registration Form at the time the petition is signed will not be counted as valid. This provisions applies to nominating petitions only.
6. [Must be a registered voter in DC (off hand assumption based on adapting from the ANC guidelines).]
7. A person may not sign a petition for another individual.
8. A person must sign the petition using the [exact same] name under which he or she is registered to vote. Failure to do so could invalidate the signature. [I have a list of the registered Republicans in DC. We will check the exact names (name middle initial suffix, etc.) and exact addresses on our petitions as those with the DC database.]
9. Voters unable to sign their names may make their mark in the space for signature. The signature will not be counted unless the person witnessing the mark attaches to the petition an affidavit attesting that he or she explained the contents of the petition to the signer and saw the signer's "marking" the petition.
10. [Not sure if this applies to the presidential nominating but will check.] A voter may sign the nominating petition of more than one candidate seeking nomination for the same office. However, a voter may not sign the petition for an individual candidate more than once.
Yours in liberty,
Brad