Christina Tobin (born June 17, 1981) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

and leader in the election reform and voters' rights movements. She is the founder and chair of The Free & Equal Elections Foundation, and president and chief executive officer of Free and Equal, Inc.

Background

Tobin was born in

Pasadena, Texas Pasadena () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 151,950, making it the twentieth most populous city in the state of Texas, as well as the second-largest cit ...

, in 1981. She grew up in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

and graduated from Fenwick High School in

Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago. It is the 29th-most populous municipality in Illinois with a population of 54,583 as of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate. Oak Park was first settled in 1835 and later incorporated in ...

. She attended Saint Mary's University in

Winona, Minnesota Winona is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, in the state of Minnesota. Located in bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf. The city is named after legendary figure Winona, who ...

where she served as varsity tennis captain and volunteered for

Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a US non-governmental, and nonprofit organization which was founded in 1976 by couple Millard and Linda Fuller. Habitat for Humanity is a Ch ...

. In 2004, she earned a bachelor's degree in graphic design with a minor in

business marketing Business marketing is a marketing practice of individuals or organizations (including commercial businesses, governments and institutions). It allows them to sell products or services to other companies or organizations that resell them, use the ...

Career and activism

Tobin started her career as a

non-partisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...

ballot access Elections in the United States refers to the rules and procedures regulating the conditions under which a candidate, political party, or ballot measure is entitled to appear on voters' ballots. As the nation's election process is decentralized b ...

coordinator. An expert in defending signatures and coordinating petition drives, Tobin has helped gather and defend over one million signatures for

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

s, the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

, the Constitution Party, the Republican Party, the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, the

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties Lists of political part ...

and the Socialist Equality Party.

Illinois campaigns

In the 1998 election for governor of Illinois, Tobin helped defend over 60,000 signatures for her father, Libertarian candidate

James Tobin James Tobin (March 5, 1918 – March 11, 2002) was an American economist who served on the Council of Economic Advisers and consulted with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and taught at Harvard and Yale Universities. He devel ...

. In 2002, she personally gathered over 5,000 signatures and successfully defended 55,000 signatures for Cal Skinner, who was running for governor, and her father, who was running for lieutenant governor representing the Libertarian Party. In the 2004 presidential election, Tobin defended 29,000 signatures in Illinois for

Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. The son of Lebanese immigrants to the Un ...

when he ran as an independent. She also sued Democratic State Chair Michael Madigan alleging that he used his full-time state employees to have Nader removed from the Illinois ballot. For the November 2006 election, she successfully defended 39,000 signatures for

Rich Whitney Rich Whitney (born April 21, 1955) is an American politician and civil rights attorney who was the Illinois Green Party's nominee for Governor of Illinois in the elections of 2006 and 2010. During the 2006 campaign Whitney received endorsements ...

, the Green Party candidate for Illinois governor.

Ralph Nader's 2008 presidential campaign

In 2008, Tobin served as Ralph Nader's national ballot access coordinator. She helped collect more than 500,000 signatures to put

on the District of Columbia ballot and 45 state presidential ballots, more than any other

third party Third party may refer to: Business * Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller * Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party * Third-party insurance, such as a Veh ...

or independent candidate. While coordinating the national ballot drive in 50 states, Tobin organized a successful petition drive in Illinois,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

BaliJewel Inc. lawsuit

In 2008, Tobin filed a lawsuit against John Hardy Limited, alleging harassment of jewelry designers in

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...

and improper copyrighting of a Balinese folk motif.

Free & Equal Elections Foundation

In 2008, Tobin founded the Free & Equal Elections Foundation, a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, non-partisan

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

organization, whose mission is to empower American voters through education.

Free and Equal, Inc.

In March 2009, Tobin founded Free and Equal, Inc., a non-partisan, full-service ballot access consulting and petitioning firm that specializes in independent and third-party candidates. Tobin has helped gather and defend over one million signatures for

s, the

, the Constitution Party, the Republican Party, the

, the

and the Socialist Equality Party. Free and Equal, Inc. does not endorse any candidates for office. She serves as president and chief executive officer.

Taxpayers United of America

In 2011, Tobin served as Vice President o
Taxpayers United of America
founded by her father

. Her work exposed big pension payouts in Illinois and other states.

Activism to Stop the Top Two Primary System

Tobin is a passionate activist against the top two primary systems. In 2012, she founded Stop Top Two, a movement designed to educate voters of the machinations behind the relatively new electoral trend. Louisiana, Washington and California elections are now controlled via top two primary systems. Arizona's version of a top two primary system, Proposition 121, was defeated by Arizona voters November 2012. The main objective of Tobin's Stop Top Two movement was to defeat the proposition through education, media outreach and panel discussions, including the "Problems with Arizona's Top Two Primary System – Proposition 121" panel presented by the Free & Equal Elections Foundation at the Goldwater Institute on October 9, 2012.

Debates

Free & Equal hosts open, all-inclusive gubernatorial, Presidential and senatorial debates, including the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Presidential debates moderated by

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

winning journalist

Chris Hedges Christopher Lynn Hedges (born September 18, 1956) is an American journalist, Presbyterian minister, author, and commentator. In his early career, Hedges worked as a freelance war correspondent in Central America for ''The Christian Science Mon ...

, broadcast legend

Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program ...

Thom Hartmann Thomas Carl Hartmann (born May 7, 1951) is an American radio personality, author, former psychotherapist, businessman, and progressive political commentator. Hartmann has been hosting a nationally syndicated radio show, ''The Thom Hartmann Pro ...

Free Speech TV Free Speech TV (FSTV) is an American progressive news and opinion network. It was launched in 1995 and is owned and operated by Public Communicators Incorporated, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, tax-exempt organization founded in 1974. Distributed pri ...

, and

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

winning actor

Ed Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' an ...

California Secretary of State candidacy

Tobin ran as the

candidate for the

California Secretary of State election, 2010 The 2010 California Secretary of State election was held on November 2, 2010, to choose the Secretary of State of California. The primary election was held on June 8, 2010. Incumbent Democratic Debra Bowen won reelection to a second term. Ca ...

. She formally announced her candidacy for Secretary of State on February 23, 2010. She was the only candidate seeking the Libertarian Party nomination.

Richard Winger Richard Lee Winger (born August 27, 1943) is an American, political activist and analyst. He is the publisher and editor of ''Ballot Access News''. He sits on the editorial board of the ''Election Law Journal''. Winger publishes analysis, statisti ...

, editor and publisher of ''

Ballot Access News ''Ballot Access News'' is a United States-based website and monthly online and print newsletter edited and published by Richard Winger of San Francisco, California. Winger is an expert on ballot access law in the United States. History Published ...

'' was her campaign manager. In the general election, Tobin came in fourth with 214,347 votes, 2.3 percent of the total votes cast.

References

External links

Christina Tobin for CA Secretary of State

The Free and Equal Elections Foundation

Free and Equal Inc.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tobin, Christina 1981 births Living people 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Activists from California California Independents California Libertarians People from Pasadena, Texas Saint Mary's University of Minnesota alumni Women in California politics