Alabama Beer Legislation and My Candidacy

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jacob1484

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Joined
Dec 11, 2009
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Location
lower alabama
I was commenting on the sad situation of AL beer legislation last night and how the House Rep for my area (house district 96) has opposed pro-beer legislation and will probably continue to do so. I complain that he is running unopposed again this year and my friend says "Run against him"...

"I'm pretty sure it is way too late to get on the ballot and I don't have the money anyway" I say.

He pauses for a moment then says "Write Ins man.."

I consider this idea (and my IPA) for a few seconds and ask my friend "How on earth would I convince several thousand people who have never heard of me to go write my name in on a ballot?"

We ponder this question and the possibilities for a few minutes.

I ask "Is this even possible? The odds really aren't very good."

He replies "It's better than sitting in your backyard drinking beer and complaining about it isn't it?"

I can't really argue with that.

So.. here I am. No campaign contributions or fundraisers, no trust fund, no large bank account, no real party affiliation and not even on the ballot.
I fully support all of the Free The Hops projects/agendas and I also have a few pro-brewing ideas of my own. I don't have a moral agenda to push or any corporate interests.

I'm asking that anyone in Alabama House District 96 write my name in for House Representative in November. Jacob Wayne Bankester

If you don't know what district you're in you can find out here:

http://www.legislature.state.al.us/misc/zipsearch.html


I'll be putting up a facebook page, a twitter account, a small web site/blog and anything else I can think of over the next week or two.

Feel free to tell me I've lost it :ban: , or that I have no chance. At least I'm making an attempt instead of crying into a glass of illegal homebrew.
:mug:
 
I don't know about Alabama, but in California, you can't just write-in any name. The write-in candidate still has to be registered, meet all requirements and pay all fees that the ballot candidates did. The only difference is timing. If you missed the deadline for the ballot, you can then be a write-in candidate. Check the local election laws on that. Either way, good luck with that! That's what the system is for, so use it!

:ban:
 
I don't know about Alabama, but in California, you can't just write-in any name. The write-in candidate still has to be registered, meet all requirements and pay all fees that the ballot candidates did. The only difference is timing. If you missed the deadline for the ballot, you can then be a write-in candidate. Check the local election laws on that. Either way, good luck with that! That's what the system is for, so use it!

:ban:

I'm looking into that right now but I'm not having much luck finding any useful information. The AL.gov web resources are terrible...
 
I'm looking into that right now but I'm not having much luck finding any useful information. The AL.gov web resources are terrible...

You should be able to get all the info & papers you need at your county's Registrar of Voters offices.

Edit: Baldwin or Mobile county?
 
it looks like the deadline for registering as a third party candidate is June 1st, for the primary election. you have to be a resident of Alabama for 3 years prior and a resident of the district for at least one, and be at least 25 years old. might have missed this one!
 
You should be able to get all the info & papers you need at your county's Registrar of Voters offices.

Edit: Baldwin or Mobile county?

District 96 looks like it covers bits of both counties.

found this:
In Alabama, write-in candidates do not file as declared write-in nominees. People who wish to campaign as write-in candidates simply campaign, but they need not file any declaration of candidacy
linky


it looks like the deadline for registering as a third party candidate is June 1st, for the primary election. you have to be a resident of Alabama for 3 years prior and a resident of the district for at least one, and be at least 25 years old. might have missed this one!

I've been right here for 26 years. Residency is definitely covered
 
i can't help none as i dont live in bama and don't know the rules.....but, if this doesn't work out, keep your websites, facebooks, etc and start your campaign for the next election right now.
 
You are going to need money, especially running against an incumbent, hire a consultant is the most important thing to do. What is your name? A common last name can be very beneficial, even if you need to tweak how it is pronounced. But to get in to the race this late is going to be very hard if you can't finance your own campaign with it being this late.
 
You may be rather late to get on the ballot. I'm not sure if AL allows you to write in any name (I think in Texas they have removed the write-in option) but that seems like an option of little success.

That being the case, your time and efforts might be better spent working to expose the issue, get some media around it and organize locally. You might be able to find sympathetic individuals at the city or county level that you can leverage and may be able to help you make some noise at the state level.

Additionally, if there is a district near you where a pro-beer candidate is struggling against an opposing candidate, your support to that candidate may help ensure some district -- even if not your own -- gets a supporter in office.

If two years go by and you still have no success, you can always prepare yourself to run next time.
 
Keep going!!!! Just be careful what you wish for (can you imagine actually winning?)
Have fun with it.

I love the comment about the NEXT election - just have fun with it this time, but next time if you DO get some media coverage, find out who is really in it to win it, and become their campaign consultant! ha!
 
I'm not sure about write ins but either way give it a shot. I'm not in your district but love the idea, I also live in a district with a rep who thinks his morals should be everyone's...........
 
You have a tough battle ahead as a write in candidate, but it can be done. If you Can still get on the ballot as a 3rd parry do it absolutely. You need PEOPLE any friends that will help and your district brew clubs, bars, and liquor stores would be a good source of volunteers.

Www.localvictory.com is a good start for local campaign strategies. Spend your money on signs, that seems to be the underlying key to success, I will see if I can find the formula, but it all breaks down to number of signs.

Get your volunteers to go door to door. Have them carry registration cards and absentee ballots, especially if you have to go write in. Register EVERYONE that will, and have them fill out an absentee ballot. You can hand carry both ton the board of elections. With a current registration, they will be able to vote at their current address and signatures will match both are the top two reasons ballots get rejected. Turn in registrations as soon as you get them, the absentee ballots you may have to wait on, as there will be a date they cannot be handed in before.

You will need people at EVERY polling place in the district. They need to friendly and talk to EVERYONE going in. Have a pencil, bottle opener, coaster with your name on it and write-in instructions on it. Something that is easy to carry but not so easy to pocket, you want them carrying it into the polls in their hand so that they are thinking of your name when they vote.

Be sure to pickup all your signs the night of voting. If they linger it will detract from your campaign next go round if needed.
 

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