| Constitution Party of Wisconsin | Back to Archives Page |
| April 2003 Newsletter |
Dear Constitution Party of Wisconsin Members and Friends,
Standing on principle in the political arena doesn’t always produce victories in large numbers so we learn to appreciate those we do get. On Wednesday, April 9, Judge Barbara Crabb, a District Judge of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, ruled in favor of Constitution Party of Wisconsin plaintiffs, Edward Frami, John Clark, Calvin Zastrow and Michael Schultz in their challenge to the Wisconsin law establishing residency requirements for petition circulators.
Wisconsin was one of only a handful of states to still maintain residency requirements for circulators. Over the past fifteen years, various rulings around the nation have been chipping away at restrictions placed on those who wish to exercise their First Amendment right to petition. In Buckley v. American Constitutional Law Foundation (1988) the Supreme Court held, “Petition circulation … is ‘core political speech,’ because it involves ‘interactive communications concerning political change.’… The Court concluded that the law ‘significantly [inhibited] communication with voters about proposed political change because it decreased substantially the ‘pool of potential [petition] circulators,’ which resulted in a corresponding decrease in the size of the audience that initiative proponents could reach with their political message.”
In 1999, The Seventh District Court of Appeals threw out an Illinois law requiring petition circulators to be registered voters (and by logical extension, residents). At that time, former State Chairman, Ed Frami contacted the Wisconsin Elections Board and asked if Wisconsin Law would still be enforced in light of that ruling. He was told that it would remain enforced until somebody challenged it.
In 2002, John Clark and Mike Schultz were recruited as candidates to challenge the Wisconsin residency law. Cal Zastrow, The Constitution Party National Field Director agreed to come to Wisconsin to petition for Schultz and Clark as a non-resident, out of state circulator. Other Constitution Party volunteers, including Frami collected signatures for Schultz and Clark as non-resident, in state circulators
Including those signatures collected by non-resident circulators, both Schultz and Clark obtained enough otherwise valid signatures to be placed on the ballot; however they were both denied ballot access. Both candidates filed notice with their petitions that they were challenging the law and stated the court cases that supported their course of action. The Wisconsin Elections Board denied their appeal.
In September of 2002, Attorney Robert Bernhoft, a CPoW member, filed the lawsuit on behalf of Frami, Zastrow, Schultz and Clark against the Wisconsin Elections Board in Federal Court. Bernhoft was confident the preponderance of case law was stacked against the Wisconsin law. It took eight months for the case to work its way through the process (a swift decision by today’s standards).
Judge Crabb, in her order stated, “It is declared that the residency requirement found in Wis. Stat. §§ 8.15(4) (a) and 8.40(2) is unconstitutional to the extent it prevents Wisconsin residents from circulating nomination papers outside the political subdivision in which they reside and to the extent it prevents persons who reside outside Wisconsin from circulating nomination papers on behalf of Wisconsin candidates.”
On Judge Crabb’s decision, Bob Bernhoft remarked, “This federal court decision is the first in the country to specifically hold that state law cannot prohibit non‑residents from circulating nominating petitions for political candidates.
In addition to the pure constitutional significance of this important First Amendment decision, so‑called "third parties" will now be able to use petition circulators from across the country to help place political candidates on the ballot ‑‑ a major victory for Constitution Party state affiliates everywhere.
Frami also sees the ruling as helping third party candidates. There were times in Wisconsin when the burden of ballot access was placed on just a few supporters of our candidate because of the residency requirement. From now on, our experienced petitioners can travel anywhere to help these candidates out, said Frami.
I want to give a special thanks to Ed Frami for organizing the challenge, Mike Schultz and John Clark for running, and Cal Zastrow for gathering signatures. Also, the other residents and non-residents who collected signatures on behalf of the candidates, including Mark Gabriel who collected over 400 signatures for Schultz, 300 in one day alone.
Thanks also to Bob Bernhoft, his associate Chris Ertl and their assistant Dan Treuden for their excellent legal representation.
Moving on to other CPoW news, Ed Frami, Bob Bernhoft, Jed Haas, Tim Farness and Bob Raymond are traveling to Portland, Oregon to represent Wisconsin at the Constitution Party National Committee Meeting this weekend. In addition to the usual party business items, planning will take place for the 2004 National Convention where the party platform will be revised and updated and a presidential candidate chosen.
It is expected a presidential candidate will be announced at the meeting. Howard Phillips had been the Constitution Party candidate for president the past three elections, but is expected not to run a fourth time. Another party member is expected to announce his intentions to seek the Constitution Party nomination in Portland. We will update you on that news in our next letter, or visit our website at www.cpow.org.
After testifying before the State Senate Committee on Education, Ethics and Elections last month, Vice Chairman, Ed Frami was invited to serve on a citizens committee to provide input into new legislation which would combine the Ethics Board and Elections Boards into one body. The new bill, SB11, will reduce some government redundancy and provide more enforcement power to the Board resulting, we hope, in cleaner government.
A key recommendation from the committee on which Ed served, was to allow for one appointment to the Board by each ballot qualified political party. If the recommendation survives in the legislature, the Constitution Party of Wisconsin would have the authority to appoint one member of the nine member board. With the Caucus Scandal that has taken place the time is ripe for this important change. After the bill is formally introduced, we will let you know what you can do to help it gain support.
The CPoW Platform Committee continues its work in proposing updates and revisions to the CP Wisconsin and National Platforms. Their next meeting will be in Appleton on May 17th. Contact Ed Frami at 262-719-4500 if you would like to attend. The next State Committee Meeting will also be in Appleton, but on Saturday, May 10. CPoW Members are welcome to attend. Call me at 920-960-3602 if you want to attend. Finally, don’t forget to mark your calendars for the State Convention on October 11. We plan to invite the new presidential candidate as soon as we know who he is.
There are times when it appears little is happening with the CPoW and you may wonder if your continued support is warranted. Those of us involved in third party politics understand that political change usually does not happen overnight. Over the years we have experienced those who have “given up on politics” because a quick victory was not forthcoming. More importantly, we have also been blessed with those of you who understand the long term vision and have the determination to persevere. As leaders, we appreciate so well those of you who continue to financially support the Constitution Party. Your sacrifices of time and money will be rewarded in the future.
In the previous letter I mentioned that you could check the return slip to see if your membership had expired. Many of you had sent in your 2003 form and dues but I had failed to update the database prior to the mailing being sent. Please accept my sincere apologies for this oversight. The database is now current and once again, if you have forgotten to renew, or you are new and would like to help support the CPoW, please use the form on the back of this page to do so.
For God and Country,
Daniel M. Hoyt - State Chairman