View on Web TV: Green Party candidate for St. Louis County Executive Betsey Mitchell

Elizabeth "Betsey" Mitchell, the Green Party of St Louis Candidate for St. Louis County Executive, recently sat down for a conversation with Universal African Peoples Organization President Zaki Baruti. Continue reading

Independent U.S. Senate hopeful Lisa Savage picks up backing of one-time Democratic rival

Policy before party! Following a loss in a three-way Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, Saco lawyer Bre Kidman is bucking political tradition by refusing to endorse the winner. Instead of urging voters to pick Democrat Sara Gideon in a ranked-choice voting race attracting national attention, Kidman is backing one of two independents on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. Continue reading

Green, Libertarian Parties file suit against New York’s new ballot rules

Spectrum News: Interview with Gloria Mattera, Co-chair of the Green Party of New York In a rider passed in the last state budget, the legislature upped the ante for minor parties in New York. So, two of those minor parties, the Greens and the Libertarians, are suing. In the past, to achieve ballot status, minor parties needed to earn 50,000 votes for their gubernatorial candidates. In other words, they needed 50,000 votes to qualify for the ballot every four years – rules that have been in place for decades. Continue reading

A fresh face from the Green Party challenges Robert Stokes in the 12th District

Can Franca Muller Paz do something unheard of in Baltimore in decades: Win a City Council seat as a non-Democrat? Leading an evening bike ride through central Baltimore accompanied by musicians on a flatbed trailer belting out union songs, jazz, cumbia and hip hop – activist and teacher Franca Muller Paz yesterday made an announcement that has energized city progressives. She is challenging the incumbent Democratic Councilman, Robert R. Stokes Sr., in the November 3 general election in the 12th District. Continue reading

Green Party's 2020 underdog Howie Hawkins on why he's not a 'spoiler' and US deserves a third choice

The Green Party’s presumptive nominee calls President Trump a ‘loser’ and says Joe Biden’s policies ‘would fit comfortably into the centre-right parties of Europe’ Howie Hawkins, presumptive nominee of the Green Party and pick of the Socialist Party USA, says we need a third option for President. And writing in The Independent, he makes the case that he’s the man for the job. It’s a message that some Democrats have been quick to dismiss albeit with notes of caution. Continue reading

Minnesota activists hold Juneteenth rally for reparations

ST. PAUL, Mn. — Minnesota's Black Lives Matter chapter took to the state Capitol on Friday to mark Juneteenth with a demand for reparations and real police reform in a continued push for racial justice following the death of George Floyd. Juneteenth, the traditional commemoration date of the emancipation of enslaved African Americans, has taken on new resonance this year. There have been protests around the U.S. and beyond stemming from Floyd's death after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers. Continue reading

Pennsylvania's minor political parties file lawsuit demanding ballot access

Libertarian, Green, and Constitution Party members request an injunction waiving the requirement to collect a specific number of signatures to qualify for election HARRISBURG, Pa. — Leaders of the Libertarian Party, Green Party and Constitution Party issued a call to action for ballot access Thursday after filing a lawsuit in federal court requesting a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction eliminating the requirement to collect a specified number of signatures on nomination papers to qualify for the general election in November. The motion, filed May 14 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, names Governor Tom Wolf et al as defendants. Continue reading

Coronavirus adds to ballot access hurdles for third party candidates

When Michigan Rep. Justin Amash, a former Republican who left the party in July to become an independent, announced last weekend that he would not pursue the Libertarian Party's presidential nomination, the move removed a higher profile name from the top of its ticket. Before Amash decided to forgo a run, a similar thing happened to the Green Party. Former Gov. Jesse Ventura, who became Minnesota's chief executive by running as a Reform Party candidate in the 1990 election, said at the end of April he was "testing the waters" for a possible bid for the minor party's nomination, only to announce a week and a half later that he would be sitting this one out. Continue reading

Unable to collect signatures, third parties fear loss of ballot access

Third parties in Maryland are feeling squeezed by a stay-at-home directive that's canceling farmers markets and festivals ― and keeping Marylanders out of the joyous crowds where volunteers usually seek petition signatures to keep their access to Maryland ballots. The Green Party and Libertarian Party ― as well as independent candidates, backers of charter amendments and other ballot question efforts ― have been petitioning the State Board of Elections for relief in recent weeks. Continue reading

Ballot Access victory for Illinois Green Party

If a minor party was on the ballot in either 2016 or 2018 for an office that is up in 2020, then it is automatically on the ballot for those same offices in 2020 On April 21, U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer, a Clinton appointee, orally described substantial relief she intends to order for minor party and independent candidates for the Illinois 2020 election. Candidates will need 10% of the original legal requirement. The petition deadline is extended from June 22 to August 7. Signatures can be obtained on a signer’s computer via an electronic signature, although the candidate or party must then print out the results and transport a piece of paper to election officials. The order is being drafted but does not yet exist on paper. Continue reading