This bill is something that I didn’t have much time to think about it, nor am I sure what we should actually do. On Wednesday, May 2nd, the Supreme Court made a ruling that may remove nearly a 100 candidates from the June primaries and November’s general election ballots. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the the true interpretation of election statute. However, the law currently protects incumbents. Current legislators must file their statement of economic interest by April 15 every year. Candidates must file this information before filing ends on the last day of March. I think this is unfair and may have led to the misunderstanding of the law by so many candidates.
S.1512 simply says that the candidates that failed to meet the required deadline may have another opportunity. It gives them 12 hours on May 18th to file the appropriate information. There are several ways to deal with this problem and the judiciary committee may find some other way. I’m certainly open to all ideas and possible amendments. S. 1512 is a vehicle for an open debate on the pressing matter. I’m honored to have the following cosponsors from the whole political and partisan spectrum. Senators Leventis, Bright, Ryberg, Davis, Grooms, Gregory, Ford, Williams, Anderson, Fair, Coleman and Setzler
I’ve been wrangling with all sides and arguments on the technicalities, however, I must claim that when there’s an issue with worthy arguments on each side, we must always side with open and free elections.
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