Political Reform Agenda

• Fair Ballot Access: Texas is one of the two most difficult states for a statewide independent candidate or new party to get on the ballot. Petition requirements are outdated and impractical. A Friedman administration would abolish the time (and paper) consuming process of petitioning and replace it with a system which would place independent candidates on the primary ballots of each major party, allowing voters to participate in the party nomination process while also supporting an independent candidate's attempt to be placed on the general election ballot. This would increase voter turnout and encourage participation in the democratic process.
• Fair & Open Debates: Under a Friedman administration, a non-partisan entity would be established to develop fair and clear criteria for inclusion of all qualified candidates into debates.
• Initiative and Referendum: Texas does not currently allow citizens the right to petition and place initiatives and referenda on the statewide ballot. Women's suffrage, labor rights, social security and many more reforms were won through the citizens' initiative process in our country. Real political reforms occur when citizens are able to place their own initiatives on the ballot.
• Same Day Voter Registration: Same Day Voter Registration will permit citizens to register and vote on Election Day. States with SDVR enjoy 5%to 25% higher voter turnout rates. SDVR has proven to increase youth participation. It can be a boost to independent candidates who tend to attract younger and newer voters. It will also encourage many voters who do not become interested in campaigns until just weeks before an election, after registration rolls are closed.
• Publicly funded campaigns: Special interest money is the lifeblood of most candidates. When those candidates are elected, they use political appointments and legislation that favors those special interests as pay back. Privately financed campaigns have disenfranchised too many Texans for too long, and incumbents spend more time fundraising for re-election than they do working for the citizens who elected them. Publicly financed campaigns, funded through surcharges and registration fees on lobbyists, would eliminate the influence of special interests and would level the playing field for all political candidates. Increased registration fees for lobbyists and 10% surcharges on lobbying expenditures and other independent expenditures would provide more than $30 million in funding for Texas legislative and statewide races. Texas should also join the six other states - Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Vermont - that have adopted Clean Money Campaign Reform laws. The system offers full public financing for candidates who agree to spending limits and reject private contributions.
• Lobbying reform: Stop the revolving door between state service and lobbying. Place a ban on any Texas elected official or Texas state employee from becoming a lobbyist in Texas for two years from the time they leave or retire from their state position.
• Redistricting reform: The practice of allowing elected officials to draw their own election districts must stop. This type of political extremism lets the party in power take unfair advantage and results in less competition in our elections. We propose using the Iowa model of a non-partisan redistricting commission.
In light of the myriad political scandals that have dominated the headlines for the past year, it has become increasingly clear that Texas must end its anything-goes system and restore honesty and integrity to Texas politics.

"Politics is the only field where the more experience you have, the worse you get," Kinky says. "It's time to clean house. How much worse does it have to get?"