NY 25: Hawkins Signatures Deemed Valid
WXXI
Rachel Ward
September 12th, 2008
SYRACUSE, NY (2008-09-12) Democrat Dan Maffei and Republican Dale Sweetland have another competitor in the 25th Congressional District race.
Howie Hawkins, who's running on the "Green Populist" ticket, had his signatures validated by the State Board of Elections Friday. Those signatures had been challenged by Democrats backing Maffei, but the board has ruled that Hawkins had 4,141 valid signatures. Only 3,500 are needed to get on the ballot.
Hawkins used the favorable ruling to promote his election reform platform. The candidate is calling for proportional elections, which would see legislative bodies composed in proportion to the votes cast for the parties, as in a parliamentary system. Hawkins says that system would produce higher voter turn-out.
Hawkins also wants to have direct elections for President, removing the Electoral College as an intermediary. And he supports statehood for Washington, D.C., which currently does not have a voting member in either the US Senate or House of Representatives.
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