On February 1, the Georgia House of Representatives voted to table HB672, the Voter Choice and Election Access Reform Act. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Brian Joyce (R-Lookout Mountain), would lower Georgia ballot access barriers in local, state and federal elections by reducing the number of signatures potential independent and third-party candidates must gather in order to be placed on their respective ballots. According to the Voter Choice Coalition, a Duluth-based group of "independent representatives from several third political parties as well as citizens' organizations," Georgia has the most stringent ballot access barriers of any state in the U.S. In local races, third party candidates are required to collect signatures from no less than five percent of the registered voters in the district of the office sought - 10 times the national average. For statewide races, petition signatures are required from one percent of all registered voters in the state. Democrats and Republicans, meanwhile, do not have to petition to appear on ballots. The Voter Choice Act would lower the amount of signatures in local races to five percent of the votes cast in the previous election for the office sought, with a maximum limit of 3,000 signatures required. In state races the requirement would be lowered to two percent of votes cast in the previous election, with a maximum limit of 7,500. This would make Georgia the "10th worst" state in terms of ballot access barriers and, claims Voter Choice Coalition's on-line literature, would "very likely lead to there being three to five candidates on the ballot." The Coalition believes current Georgia election laws effectively keep independent and third party candidates out of most races by using up valuable time and scarce financial resources just to get on the ballot. Petition signatures have to be gathered by volunteers walking door to door, and many signatures end up being disqualified on technicalities. The injustice of the current system, says the Coalition, is illustrated by the fact that the number of signatures required to appear on the ballot often exceeds the number of voters who actually vote. The Coalition web site (voterchoice.org) states that in the 1998 primaries for the Georgia House, 32 Democrats and Republicans received fewer votes than the five percent petition requirement they would have had to meet if they had been independent or third-party candidates. The Coalition blames poor voter turnout in Georgia on lack of choice at the polls. In 1998, 29 (52 percent) senators and 107 (59 percent) representatives ran unopposed. Of those representatives, 76 (42 percent) also ran unopposed in their primaries. Once they paid the $400 qualifying fee, as the Coalition says, "their election was a 'done deal,' 76 of our representatives simply bought their seats for $400." In Athens-Clarke County, only Rep. Louise McBee (D-Athens) faced opposition in the last general election. Rep. Keith Heard (D-Athens) and Rep. Ralph Hudgens (R-Hull), as well as Sen. Paul Broun (D-Athens) ran unopposed. McBee voted against tabling HB672. "I thought we might as well go ahead and deal with it," she says. "I was for the bill." Both Heard and Hudgens voted to table the Voter Choice Act. At presstime, Heard had not returned Flagpole's call, and Hudgens could not be reached. Dr. Helmut Forren, Voter Choice Coalition executive director, says votes for or against tabling the bill can be interpreted several ways. "It's difficult for us to read the support or lack of support through the table vote," he explains. "There were people wanting to table because they wanted it to pass and were afraid we didn't have the votes yet. There were people who voted not to table because they wanted us to lose and didn't think we had the votes." Forren says before HB672 was tabled, it had the support of "40 to 45 percent" of state representatives. "We were close to having a passing vote. All we have to do is pick up those few additional co-sponsors." The measure could be revived in this session. After a bill has been tabled, it requires a majority vote to re-introduce it. While Forren and the Coalition work to get HB672 back on the House floor, the Voter Choice Act is also working its way through the state Senate as SB358, sponsored by Sen. Donzella James (D-Atlanta). Those interested in telling their legislators how they feel about the Voter Choice Act can call them by finding their telephone numbers at ganet.org/legis, or by calling the Senate information office at (800) 282-5803 or the House information office at (800) 282-5800. Supporters can sign the Voter Choice Coalition's on-line petition at voterchoice.org. (Brad Aaron)On Monday, February 21 at 7 p.m. in the Town and Gown Theater behind the Taylor Grady House on Prince Avenue, Small Good Thing Productions is holding an event its principals think is unique here: the Athens premiere of two radio documentaries, one produced by Steve Lickteig and the other by Rob Hilton. Lickteig's documentary is called "Reasons to Live: One Family and a Kansas Town," and it chronicles the attempt of a husband and wife to save the small town of Lebanon, Kansas, located at the exact center of the 48 states. Hilton's piece is called "Big in Japan," and it's about his three years as an "outsider" living and working in Japan. The performance/listening will start at 7 p.m. Admission is free, but donations will go toward two documentaries currently in production. One is about the Moore's Ford lynching and the second is about a week in the life of an Athens emergency room physician. Lickteig and Hilton both have extensive experience in public radio (both were formerly on the staff at WUGA-FM, the University of Georgia public radio station.) Lickteig says that although the premiere will be a new experience in Athens, the hour-long listening should prove to be quite engrossing to the audience. "The pieces are both highly produced, sound rich, character-driven pieces," he says. "They move rapidly and involve the listeners through the choice of really interesting characters who are telling the stories." Lickteig says that he and Hilton hope to get people from many disciplines to do radio documentaries, and that Athens is "a great town to do it in." Be the first on your block to hear a radio documentary premiered in a theater. And, hey, you can close your eyes. (Pete McCommons)

Just as environmentalists appear to have conquered one bill that could threaten Georgia's air and water quality, legislators have introduced another. HB1182, which would allow lawmakers to override Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) rules, was sent to a subcommittee by the Senate Natural Resources Committee. The bill was introduced by cattle rancher Rep. Henry Reaves (D-Quitman) in response to strong hog farming regulations passed by the Department of Natural Resources last year. Section one of the bill would establish an "Agricultural Advisory Committee" that could hold up any EPD regulation indefinitely; section two would allow even one standing committee chairman in the General Assembly to subject a rule to legislative veto. Opponents say this would place environmental law at the mercy of legislators who are backed by some of the state's worst polluters. Even so, HB1182 sailed through the House in less than a week with no amendments. "When it passed through the House, no one paid a lot of attention to whether or not the bill was legal. It went so quickly there wasn't time for anyone to get a grasp on what its implications were," says Justine Thompson, executive director of the Georgia Center for Law in the Public Interest in Atlanta. Thompson has completed a legal analysis of HB1182 and says the bill violates Georgia's Constitution. "Section one, as it is written, is unconstitutional because it allows a legislative committee to hold up rulemaking. But it can be fixed," says Thompson. "Section two can't be fixed for a variety of reasons." Environmentalists are hoping HB1182 will die in the Natural Resources subcommittee. Says Marty Kearns of Georgia River Network: "It was a victory that it was put in a committee that's concerned with the environment. They should be very protective of our resources." Kearns thinks an even more serious threat could be HB1426, introduced last week by Rep. Ralph Twiggs (D-Hiawassee). Twiggs' bill would drop development buffers on trout stream banks from 100 to 50 feet and allow developers to pipe any spring producing 25 gallons of water per minute or less. "We're losing stream bank left and right, and this bill has a lot of momentum behind it. We need to stop this thing dead in its tracks," says Kearns. "We should be talking about setting all state waters to 100 feet. There are some good things in the bill, but there are some things that are going to degrade water quality across the state. No doubt about it." (BA)