Summertime is here!  Children are out of school.  Memorial Day gave us opportunity to remember those who gave their last measure of devotion to our nation.  And frustrations with the Republican-Democrat duopoly continue to heat up.  Hard questions are being asked about whether the duopoly actually represents what they tell the voters.  Devoted partisan activists are faced with their political party’s rejection of values they hold dear.  Now is the time for a separate, unique, and distinct political party, and as ballot access petition signer remarked this is the year the Constitution Party can build it from the grassroots up!  

In this month’s Update we highlight the upcoming 2016 State Convention on Friday evening, June 10^th in McDonough, and the status of ballot access efforts in Georgia from Ballot Access Coordinator Carolyn Cosby.  This month's articles address topics of Georgia electoral politics, discuss the criteria for voting, training your politician (instead of the other way around), and the proper role of the courts in applying the law.  These are also available on the state party website, and speak to a number of current discussions surrounding politics.

Howard Phillips' political philosophy promoted the basic principles of Christian civil government.  This cannot be achieved by duopoly reform groups like the Democratic Pro-Life Caucus, the various TEA Party groups, or the Republican Assembly, but rather by the Constitution Party of Georgia (CP-Ga) working to  build a multifaceted network of like-minded supporters and organizations to achieve specific political ends with a multi-generational vision to build. True spiritual revival in our communities provides the soil in which the CP-Ga can thrive.  The party’s expansion will be paced with the growth of a constituency that will vote for representatives who have the courage to implement the party's principles.  

Currently all of the party’s elected officials around the country are serving in local offices.  Here's the long game:  our presidential campaign attracts voters, building our base of support.  This positions us to win battles over the next four years in our communities! 

With a vision of victory,

Ricardo Davis
State Chairman

In This Update

• 2016 State Convention featuring Presidential Candidate Darrell Castle
• June Ballot Access Update
• Will Alternative Parties on the Ballot Help Get Clinton Elected in Georgia?
• Ask These Questions Before Voting
• How to Train Your Politician
• Political Capital
• Originalism
• Building the Supporter Pipeline
• Upcoming Events

“Why aren’t there any Constitution Party candidates on the ballot?” Here’s why…

Georgians cannot run as a candidate for a partisan office in any standard election unless they circulate ballot access petitions or run as a Democrat or Republican.  Today Georgia currently requires roughly 22,000 signatures of registered voters for an independent candidate to place their name on the ballot for a U.S Congressional race, and roughly 60,000 signatures for a statewide race.

Compared to other states Georgia has the worst state ballot accessibility for alternative political parties:

• The barrier required by Georgia that a party must receive 20% of votes cast in the previous gubernatorial or presidential race to run a full slate of candidates is ten times the national median of about 2%.
• Georgia is one of the worst in the nation at political party qualification having no alternative parties qualifying in the last 25 years.
• Georgia is one of only two states that does not qualify all of the party nominees in the next election when a candidate of a party meets ballot access requirements.

As a result of Georgia’s overly restrictive ballot access laws, in 2016 81% of all state legislature races have only one candidate! During the Civil Rights Movement it was understood that the right to vote without the right to vote for your candidate was useless!  When both major political parties work together to violate your God-given unalienable rights your voice is shut out.

But you have the ability to help change that by assisting Constitution Party (CP-Ga) candidates to get on the ballot by volunteering to sign or circulate a ballot access petition today!

By signing up you acknowledge that you are a registered Georgia voter.  When there is an election in your area with a CP-Ga candidate the CP-Ga will contact you to help with a ballot access petition effort.  You are not legally bound to sign any ballot access petition or vote for only Constitution Party candidates.  You will receive petition updates from the CP-Ga based on party activity in your area. You can unsubscribe from these updates at any time.

Join your fellow concerned neighbors who want to see the Founders’ principles of life and liberty restored by supporting candidates who will fight for our Constitutional rights.

Dr. J. David Gillespie, a former professor and vice president of academic affairs at Presbyterian College, teaches political parties and third-party politics at the College of Charleston. He authored two books on third parties, more recently Challengers to Duopoly: Why Third Parties Matter in American Two-Party Politics. Though Gillespie's article focuses on ballot access inequity in South Carolina, this systemic problem is just as pervasive in Georgia.

From TheState.com - February 23, 2015 
http://www.thestate.com/2015/02/23/4000080_gillespie-if-south-carolinians.html
Retrieved March 2, 2015

Choice lies right at the heart of democracy. Democracy empowers citizens to enter a free marketplace of ideas and choose from an array of candidates, parties, issue positions, policy alternatives and proposals for reform. It warms many Americans’ hearts to think that democracy is among this nation’s precious exports, its gift to the world.