Thank you for supporting our movement of peace, social justice, democracy, and environmental wisdom. This year has been incredible.

When we started Green Wave of Pennsylvania in 2024, it was a complete rebuild from scratch. We had 2 dedicated team leads, and our wonderful support from a few long time members.

We were in over our heads, focused on planting seeds, and getting the movement moving across our state after a long pandemic that is still occurring. I've never managed a campaign bigger than city council. I found myself organizing several counties of members I would be meeting the first time. I was brand new to this party as of June of 2023. 

Over time I got to meet many of you all, and right now, you are all my family. See I never had a safe family, but the Green Party of Pennsylvania became that family. We bicker and discourse. I push and you pull. But you are my friends. 

Somehow, after all the festivals and markets, and days just begging for a signature in the street, we ended up somehow collecting over 20,000 signatures from volunteers and staff the Stein campaign hired to support. We threw away the ones we found that were collected by some republicans. and we still had over 3 times as many as we needed turned in. The democrats ended up not suing us after even more signatures were submitted by a stranger with a supplemental submission. 

We didn't know who our Vice Presidential Candidate would be. Eventually it got to be past the withdrawal deadline and we had to sue the Department of State to allow us to withdraw and replace Samson Kpadenou, our friend in Florida who was a placeholder candidate with Dr. Butch Ware who is one of the most impressive organizers in our movement today. We won our case against the state of Pennsylvania with no contest. 

But also the day after we turned those signatures in, I got hit by a car and lost almost everything. I am on medical leave from 3 part time roles in our local and state government. I will be homeless by the 23rd. I can't safely organize on the ground by myself. But you all heard the call to action and stepped up when you heard I injured by brain neck, back and shoulder, and started falling frequently. I am so incredibly appreciative and proud of this movement for picking up the effort for peace, social justice, environmental wisdom, and democracy. 

Because you all stepped up and built the team into a movement of hundreds of volunteers across our state, we are likely to achieve some incredibly important goals and take away the monopoly for special elections the major parties have with our election system. 

Goal 1

Section 801 of the Pennsylvania election code says that we need 2% of the highest vote earners share statewide and in 10 counties for either Jill, Butch, Leila or Richard to become a minor party. We are polling high enough and made enough contacts in our state that we should hopefully achieve this. Minor parties receive guaranteed access to special elections for 2 years according to sections 626-630 of that same election code. This takes away the monopoly on our local elections in Philadelphia, starting with state rep district 181 special election this winter, if Malcolm Kenyatta wins state auditor. This is an incredibly viable district where we can defeat republicans, and where I served on election board as a Green. It is why we run for statewide office every 2 years to take away this advantage from democrats and republicans over our movement, and steward democracy in our state as there is no primary for special elections. For two years, we can put peace on the ballot. 

Goal 2

If we get 5% of the vote nationwide for Jill, your taxes will stop only going to democrat and republican presidential candidates. This goal every single vote counts for right now. It will break the federal duopoly and create a multiparty system in the US. It will force the major parties to approach our movement to discuss coalition and concessions at the minimum, and position us for further electoral gains for 4 years if we refuse.

Goal 3

15% of registered voters to become a major party like the Democrats and Republicans. Unfortunately we did not achieve this monumental goal. This is a longer term project to get access to the state primary for green registered voters so we don't run our primary internally. If we become a major party, we will also have our party rules, committees, and conventions formally recognized by the state. 

Please come celebrate with us and Abandon Harris potentially achieving goal 1 and goal 2 tomorrow at Villekebabs at 1722 Sansom Street from 8:30 to 11:30pm and discuss our plans for the future. If we achieve one of these 2 goals, we will have won the election in 2024. We don't need to win office to win this year. Your hard work has earned us a major victory towards incremental progress, and hopefully breaking a duopoly in PA elections for 2 years, and hopefully breaking a duopoly in Presidential elections for the next cycle. 

RSVP Here to the event hosted by the Abandon Harris Campaign
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/steinware2024abandon-harris-watch-party-tickets-1056361418439

Alex Casper
Greenwave - Team Lead
Green Party of PA - Steering Committee At Large
Green Party of PHL - Member Secretary
Former Inspector of Elections - Philadelphia Ward 47-14 Green

Green Party of Philadelphia
www.gpop.org/