Richard Winger
Richard Lee Winger (born August 27, 1943) is an American political activist and analyst. He is the publisher and editor of Ballot Access News. He sits on the editorial board of the Election Law Journal. Winger publishes analysis, statistics and legal information and supports more equitable laws allowing access to the ballot for minor parties.[1][2][3][4][5]
Winger is widely regarded as an expert on ballot access and election law.[6][7][8][9] Though not a lawyer, he testifies in court cases and legislative hearings and is a source for media and political organizers.[10][11][12][13] He has been published in The Wall Street Journal, Journal of Election Law, the Fordham Urban Law Review, American Review of Politics, California Journal and other publications.[14] He has appeared as a commentator on ballot access on NBC, ABC, CNN, and NPR.[14] Since 1985 Winger has published Ballot Access News,[15] [16] a monthly newsletter covering developments in ballot access law and among the minor parties generally.[2][17]
Background
A lifelong Californian, Richard Winger graduated from the University of California, Berkeley as a Political Science major in 1966,[10] and attended Graduate School in Political Science at UCLA.
Coalition on Free and Open Elections
In 1985 Winger helped found, along with several minor party representatives, the Coalition on Free and Open Elections (COFOE).[3] The group attempts to co-ordinate action and provide mutual support among the various minor parties for efforts to liberalize and reform ballot access laws.
Politics
Winger has been a member of the Libertarian Party for several years.[18]
Winger has made one run for public office, a 1986 campaign for Secretary of State of California on the Libertarian ballot line. As he was running for the office charged with the administration of elections, the campaign was styled as being nonpartisan, intended to represent the interests of all minor parties. Winger finished fourth among five candidates with 1.5% of the vote.[19]
References
- ↑ "D.C. Mayor Williams and national ballot access problem". The New York Beacon. via HighBeam Research (subscription required). August 28, 2002. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
- 1 2 LeBlanc, Steve (November 4, 2002). "Third Parties Hope to Raise Profile". Associated Press. via HighBeam Research (subscription required). Retrieved April 23, 2012.
- 1 2 Sileo, Chi Chi; Leiter, Lisa (September 11, 1995). "Ballot access on the '96 ticket. (third parties want a chance)". Insight on the News. via HighBeam Research (subscription required). Retrieved April 23, 2012.
- ↑ Persinos, John F. (September 1, 1995). "Third party rising? (potential for a third party in the US)". Campaigns & Elections. via HighBeam Research (subscription required). Retrieved April 23, 2012.
- ↑ Rudin, Ken (November 1, 2006). "Who's On Third? Those 'Other' Candidates". NPR. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
Richard Winger of Ballot Access News, who follows this stuff more thoroughly than anyone else, notes that every state holding partisan statewide races this year has minor-party or independent candidates except for Alabama, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Pennsylvania....
- ↑ Lowi, Theodore J; Romance, Joseph (1998) A Republic of Parties?: Debating the Two-Party System. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 18. ISBN 9780847686094. External link in
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(help) - ↑ Roth, Robert (1999). A Reason to Vote. Macmillan. pp. 10, 22–24. ISBN 9780312243166. External link in
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(help) - ↑ Richardson, Darcy G. (2004) Others: Third Party Politics from the Nation's Founding to the Rise and Fall of the Greenback-Labor Party, Volume 1. iUniverse. p. x. ISBN 9780595317233. External link in
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(help) - ↑ Doyle, Randall Jordan (2005). America and Australia: Writings and Observations from the 'Empire' and 'Van Diemen's Land'. University Press of America,. p. 26. ISBN 9780761832720. External link in
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(help) - 1 2 Ford, Marcia (2008). We the Purple: Faith, Politics, and the Independent Voter. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. pp. 30–31. ISBN 9781414317175. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
- ↑ "Ballot Access: Restriction on Democracy?". Kansas City infoZine. July 20, 2004. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
- ↑ "Libertarians sue for ballot access". Independent Weekly. via HighBeam Research (subscription required). October 5, 2005. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
- ↑ Wood, Daniel B. (September 7, 2010). "Californians debate debates: Who gets to participate?". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
- 1 2 Mattson, Kevin; Hayduk, Kevin (2002). Democracy's moment: reforming the American political system for the 21st century. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 271. ISBN 9780742517509. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
- ↑ Cain, Andrew (January 1, 2012). "How did Virginia's ballot access get so strict?". Richmond Times-Dispatch. WSLS-TV. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
- ↑ "Dump the petitions, lower the bar". Chicago Tribune. May 4, 2010. Retrieved May 11, 2010.
- ↑ Fairbank, Katie (October 25, 1996). "A vote for 3rd party movement". The Madison Courier. Associated Press. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
- ↑ "Listen to Richard Winger and Abel Moldonado debate Prop 14". Independent Political Report. May 11, 2010. Retrieved May 11, 2010.
- ↑ Join California:Election History for the State of California/Elections 1986-11- - 1995, www.JoinCalifornia.com.