by Manuelita Beck
Daily Lobo
Democrats criticized a recent petition drive at UNM for independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader.
His campaign hired JSM, Inc., a Florida-based marketing firm, to collect signatures to get him on the ballot in New Mexico. Nader needs 14,527 signatures by Sept. 7.
Last week, JSM registered voters and gathered petition signatures on the mall between Popejoy Hall and the Cornell Parking Structure. The group's table sported a sign saying, "Put the independent on the ballot."
Melissa Corrigan, a senior who is a member of UNM College Democrats and a John Kerry volunteer, stood across the street from them Friday and passed out fliers about JSM.
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She said she was concerned that JSM employees misrepresent themselves as Nader supporters.
"The Democrats want people to know these aren't grass-roots activists," Corrigan said. "These are paid employees."
Denise Lamb, the state's election director, said signature gatherers are not required to disclose what group they work for. They are only required to print the candidate's name at the top of the petition.
The petition gatherers refused to comment, saying they were instructed not to give interviews.
However, Deborah Adams, the JSM contact on its activity clearance form, said the fliers were an effort to damage the company.
"We may have a lawsuit," she said, adding that JSM has a lawyer looking into it.
Matt Farranto, a Democratic spokesman, called the signature gathering a "Republican effort."
However, Nader spokesman Kevin Zeese confirmed Nader's campaign had hired JSM and said the campaign needs as many signatures as possible.
"The Democrats have promised to sue us," Zeese said. "We have no choice but to get extra signatures."
He said the hiring of JSM to collect signatures is not unusual.
"Signature-gathering firms have been used in politics around the country by all sorts of issue-oriented efforts," Zeese said.
However, Lamb called the practice "highly unusual."
"This has never been an issue before," she said. "Usually candidates and parties do their own collection."
Carol Miller, Nader's New Mexico coordinator, also rejected the idea that the petition drive is Republican-backed. She said volunteers have collected most of the signatures.
"We've been getting the bulk of our signatures at farmers markets, concerts, coffeehouses," Miller said. "I don't think too many Republicans went to the Ani DiFranco concert in Santa Fe last week where hundreds of signatures were collected in under an hour."
She predicted the Nader campaign will have more than double the minimum number of signatures needed.
Susan Corban, associate director for student activities, said she had received some complaints, but said JSM is following UNM policy. The company filled out an activity clearance form requesting to register voters and collect petition signatures and "no UNM policy is going to deny them of that," she said.
A UNM policy from 2002 allows political activity in public outdoor areas as long as the normal business of the University is not disrupted and building entrances and exits are not blocked or impeded.
Four presidential candidates are already on New Mexico's ballot. In addition to John Kerry and George Bush, the Green Party has David Cobb and the Libertarian Party has Michael Badnarik on the ballot.
JSM is under investigation in West Virginia for its signature-gathering practices on Nader's behalf and was found in Arizona to have illegally used a convicted felon to collect signatures. Two of its employees were arrested in Florida for faking signatures on state constitutional amendment petitions.
