It's Time for Electronic Petitioning for Ballot Access for Third Party Candidates!

Alrighty then,

If you've been keeping track of all the legislation introduced in this session of the Georgia House and Senate that addresses ballot access issues in the great state of Georgia, you'll notice that one area has not received any attention. Where is the bill that would allow third party/independent candidates to conduct online petitioning for ballot access? Senator Shafer's SB 359 is absolutely great, Representative Reese's HB 1141 is commendable, SB 406 by Senator Staton, Senator Williams, Senator Douglas and Senator Harp is also a step in the right direction as is it would allow for online voter registration.

If you can register to vote online, why can't you sign an online petition to get a candidate on the ballot? Are there any differences between these two activities? It's not like you're casting a ballot on line, you're just indicating that you support a candidate for office. It's time to get a bill in the mix along with SB 359, HB 1141 and SB 406 that addresses this need. It's time for Georgia to lead the way for the rest of the country in providing a cost efficient, time efficient method for the people of Georgia to express their political views that does not force volunteers to trudge door to door through Georgia's July heat and humidity to get a signature on a piece of paper.

The safeguards contained in SB 406 to prevent fraud would work for an electronic petitioning initiative and electronic petitioning would remove the infamous Notary Public Loophole as well. It's an idea whose time has come.