Main hub for organising and implementing Meritocratic Democracy in the State of Ohio.
About the Ohio category
The restrictions are tough here, it looks like we’d anywhere from 28,000-56,000 signatures either for a petition to start a party or for a petition to start a party with ballot access. Legislation was recently passed which has made it more difficult for minor parties but I’m not sure what it was before. According to Ballotpedia, Ohio currently recognizes 4 parties outside of republicans and democrats.
http://ballotpedia.org/Ballot_access_requirements_for_political_candidates_in_Ohio#cite_note-27
http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=130_SB_193
http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/3517.01
Passed by the Ohio General Assembly and signed into law by Governor John Kasich on November 6, 2013, S.B. 193 made significant revisions to the processes regulating ballot access for minor parties and their candidates, which are established in Title 35, Chapter 3517, Section 01 of the Ohio Revised Code.[5][6][7]
(a): "[At] the most recent regular state election, the group polled for its candidate for governor in the state or nominees for presidential electors at least three percent of the entire vote cast for that office. A group that meets the requirements of this division remains a political party for a period of four years after meeting those requirements." For example, in 2010, 3,852,469 were cast for governor.[8] In order for a newly established political party to maintain state recognition, its candidate for governor would have had to win at least 115,575 votes.
(b): "The group filed with the Secretary of State, subsequent to its failure to meet the [above] requirements, a party formation petition that meets all of the following requirements:
(i): "**The petition is signed by qualified electors equal in number to at least 1 percent of the total vote for governor or nominees for presidential electors at the most recent election for such office**.
(ii): "The petition is signed by not fewer than 500 qualified electors from each of at least a minimum of one-half of the congressional districts in the state. If an odd number of congressional districts exists in this state, the number of districts that results from dividing the number of congressional districts by two shall be rounded up to the next whole number."
(iii): "The petition declares the petitioners' intention of organizing a political party, the name of which shall be stated in the declaration and of participating in the succeeding general election, held in even-numbered years, that occurs more than 125 days after the date of filing."
(iv): "The petition designates a committee of not less than three nor more than five individuals of the petitioners, who shall represent the petitioners in all matters relating to the petition. Notice of all matters or proceedings pertaining to the petition may be served on the committee, or any of them, either personally or by registered mail, or by leaving such notice at the usual place of residence of each of them."