Mollis will not appeal ruling on third parties

PROVIDENCE – R.I. Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis won’t appeal a U.S. District Court decision striking down a state law restricting the amount of time new political parties have to seek public support in order to become recognized.
The ruling gives “third parties a fair amount of time to collect signatures while ensuring there is a reasonable demonstration of the support of the people,” Mollis said in a statement.
The case in question was brought by Ken Block, founder of the Moderate Party, who filed suit challenging a state law that required new parties to wait until Jan. 1 of an election year to begin collecting signatures.
U.S. District Court Judge William Smith, however, let stand the portion of the law that set the signature threshold at 5 percent of the votes cast for president or governor in the previous election. •