The Texas GOP establishment has lost its head, or it needs to!
On the heels of censuring newly elected Congressman Tony Gonzales (R-Eagle Pass), and before a federal court judge issues a ruling on a major challenge to the ballot access laws for independents and minor parties, GOP establishment Senator Charles Hughes (R-Mineola) filed several ugly bills on Friday, the filing deadline.
For example, check out SB02532, which doubles the signatures for independents to get on the ballot. Apparently, 80,000+ signatures in as little as 30 days from folks who didn't vote in the primary are too "easy." As for filing fees? All candidates will pay double. We can't wait to find out what this means for new parties.
A few days before that, Hughes filed SB 1660, which could easily throw our minor parties -- Libertarians and Greens -- off the ballot in 2024. To top it all off, on February 14, Hughes filed SB 921 to outlaw preferential voting (like rank-choice voting) in Texas. (Don't get fooled by the caption language about a majority vote.)
A Political Monopoly Needs Busting!
Join us tomorrow, Monday night, March 13, at 7 pm on Zoom with the nation's ballot access guru, Rich Winger, editor of Ballot Access News. We have action plans we want to discuss with you!
Senator Hughes chairs the State Affairs Committee. Tomorrow, Monday, March 13, at 10:30 am, the committee will hear: (Hearing link here.)
A bad bill. That's Hughes' anti-RCV bill, SB 921.
A very good bill sponsored by Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), SB 221, to protect our municipal petition rights.
Note: State Affairs has 8 Republicans and 3 Democrats. Caution: We know plenty of Republicans who realize attacking independents is unwise since these stinky bills could awaken and unite as many as 5 million Texas independents, from across the spectrum.
If you are at the Capitol tomorrow, please try to sign in for SB221 and against SB921. You don't need to testify, unless you want to. Hearing link.
Action Plans are Happening Tomorrow Night!
We will be taking action starting Tuesday morning. So, if you miss the event, get in touch. Get ready to ride, y'all.
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