Nader/Gonzalez Campaign Concludes Arduous Mass. Ballot Petitioning Process with the Submission of More Than 22,000 Signatures
Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at 12:00:00 AM
News Advisory
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: (Washington) Chris Driscoll, 202-360-3273, chris@votenader.org; (Boston) Michael Richardson, 202-441-6660, mrichardson@votenader.org
NADER/GONZALEZ CAMPAIGN CONCLUDES ARDUOUS MASS. BALLOT PETITIONING PROCESS WITH THE SUBMISSION OF MORE THAN 22,000 SIGNATURES
The Nader/Gonzalez 2008 presidential campaign on Wednesday, Aug. 20, will submit approximately 17,000 validated signatures to the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Elections Division, to place Ralph Nader and running-mate Matt Gonzalez on the November 2008 presidential election ballot.
Massachusetts will be the 34th state in which the Nader/Gonzalez Campaign has filed for a ballot line since Mr. Nader announced his intent to run during a February 24 appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press". To qualify to appear on Massachusetts' ballot, the Nader/Gonzalez Campaign submitted more than 22,000 signatures to 332 towns and cities on July 29, the most complex petition submission in the nation. Local election officials verified the signatures and the campaign then was required to collect them from all 332 towns and cities and submit the total verified signatures to the Commonwealth by the end of August. Preliminary verification results yielded a 75-80 percent validity rate, which would give the Nader/Gonzalez Campaign a large safety margin above the 10,000 required.
Michael Richardson, Massachusetts Nader/Gonzalez 2008 Coordinator, will hold a Weds. Aug. 20, 10 a.m. news conference at the Elections Division office, McCormack Building, Room 1705, One Ashburton Place, Boston, Mass. 02108
WHO: Massachusetts Nader/Gonzalez 2008 Campaign
WHAT: News Conference and nominating petitions submission
WHEN: 10 a.m., Weds. Aug. 20, 2008
WHERE: Elections Division office, McCormack Building, Room 1705, One Ashburton Place, Boston, Mass. 02108
About Ralph Nader
Attorney, author, and consumer advocate Ralph Nader has been named by Time Magazine one of the "100 Most Influential Americans in the 20th Century." For more than four decades he has exposed problems and organized millions of citizens into more than 100 public interest groups advocating solutions. He led the movement to establish the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and was instrumental in enacting the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and countless other pieces of important consumer legislation. Because of Ralph Nader we drive safer cars, eat healthier food, breathe better air, drink cleaner water, and work in safer environments. Nader graduated from Princeton University and received an LL.B from Harvard Law School.
About Matt Gonzalez
Matt Gonzalez was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 2000 representing San Francisco's fifth council district. From 2003 to 2005, he served as Board of Supervisors President. A former public defender, Gonzalez is managing partner of Gonzalez & Leigh, a 7-attorney practice in San Francisco that represents individuals and organizations in mediation, arbitration, and administrative proceedings before state and federal regulatory bodies. Gonzalez graduated from Columbia University and received a JD from Stanford Law School.
About the Nader/Gonzalez Campaign
According to a CNN-Opinion Research Corp. poll conducted from July 27-29, Ralph Nader is at 6 percent nationally (equivalent to about 10 million eligible voters), higher than his highest major poll numbers during the same time period in 2000 and approaching the 10 percent threshold required for eligibility to participate in "America's Presidential Debate in New Orleans," a Google-sponsored event scheduled for September 18. In the key swing state of Michigan -- whose Democratic voters were partially disenfranchised by the Democratic National Committee -- an EPIC-MRA poll found Nader at 8-10 percent.
For more information on the Nader/Gonzalez campaign, visit: votenader.org.
