PHILADELPHIA – "Earth Day, April 22, is important to members of the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA)," said Chris Robinson, leader of GPPA's communication team. "In past years, GPPA has held big events for Earth Day. I remember when we organized with our movement friends to hold Earth Day 2013 demonstrations at every regional office of the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) because they were not protecting the environment from the fossil fuel industry."

Our 2020 ballot access campaign has concluded. Thanks to everyone who fought for free and fair elections for all candidates! Sign up to receive updates as we fight for safe and fair ballot access in 2021!

• Virginia Ballot Access Petitioning Requirements and COVID-19

The Green Party of Virginia sent the following statement today to the government of Virginia requesting that they waive the petitioning requirement for ballot access in light of the present pandemic.

On the topic of the COVID-19 pandemic in Sunday's Biden-Sanders debate, Joe Biden said, "…you have a single-payer system in Italy — it doesn't work there. It has nothing to do with Medicare for All. That would not solve the problem at all."

Medicare for All has everything to do with fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Joe Biden has no idea what he is talking about. He only knows his anti-socialist dogma.

• Strength Through Equality

TREATING AMERICA'S VIRAL INFECTION OF INJUSTICE.

The unfolding epidemic of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) infections has laid bare the weaknesses in this country's healthcare infrastructure as well as the massive inequalities and economic weaknesses of our country's abusive system.

PITTSBORO, NC – The outbreak of the specific coronavirus strain now working its way through the US has exposed many weaknesses in the US healthcare system, and in the way the US treats its working class and poor. As the Democratic and Republican parties argue over helping the 1% versus the rest of the country, the North Carolina Green Party recommends that both federal and state governments undertake the following actions to ensure that working class families and the poor, including the homeless, have a chance to emerge unscathed, both physically and financially, from the impact of COVID-19.

Photo Credit: Rich Whitney, state Green Party co-chair, greets people on a sidewalk in Chicago in 2010 when he was a candidate for governor.(Jos M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

Tuesday marked the first day for independent and third-party contenders to start seeking voter petition signatures to make the November ballot, but their already difficult task has been made even tougher due to restrictions brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Even without any public health concerns, independent and third-party candidates had a tougher job to get on the ballot since they are required to get several times the signatures Republicans and Democrats need to qualify for their primary ballots.

• Cheri Honkala on battling back in frontline communities

Cheri Honkala has been organizing in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, one of the US’s most devastated, post-industrial communities, for over 30 years. As of the 2010 census, Kensington was 38.9 percent Hispanic of any race, 37.4 percent non-Hispanic white, 14.8 percent non-Hispanic Black, 6.2 percent Asian, and 2.7 percent all other. And it’s beginning to be threatened by gentrification.

• They must collect thousands of signatures for the petitions in Minnesota, a dangerous task amid the current pandemic. An executive order is needed.

On March 14, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo suspended the signature-gathering process for candidates for political office in his state to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus, while at the same time reducing the number of signatures that will be required for each office this year by approximately 70%.

The United States has none of the systems or infrastructure that would allow it to accomplish what China has done to fight mass infection.

The only thing more frightening than the COVID-19 virus spreading around the world is the knowledge that this country is woefully unprepared to protect people from it. The response to the epidemic would be funny if it were not so dangerous.