Election bill in Springfield

I was combing through this bill yesterday to figure out how it will help/hurt third parties and indepenents. Dan Johnson-Weinberger breaks it down nicely. First of all, early voting is a great idea. This is good for democracy all around. The biggest help to the Green Party specifically will be the simplification of the deputy registrar/voter registration process. This, along with some other provisions aimed specifically at college campuses, will make it easier for young people at college to vote. The raising of signature requirements for state legislature seats doesn't necessarily hurt many Greens at this point, except districts that we have "established." Gathering 500 valid signatures can be somewhat labor intensive for a small grassroots organization, although it's nothing compared to the signature requirements in unestablished districts. It will probably hurt challengers from major parties more (and of course favor incumbents). There are couple of other good election reform bills that don't look like they'll go anywhere anytime soon. But this is a good start.