Democrats have their own voter suppression issues
On Feb. 15, Gallup released a poll saying support for a “third party” is at an all-time high. On March 22, state Sen. Roberta Lange, D-Las Vegas, introduced SB 292, which would make it harder for new or previously unqualified political parties to appear on the ballot in Nevada.
Supported by Democrats in the Legislature, SB 292 would double the number of signatures required to get on the ballot, from 1 percent to 2 percent of the last U.S. House statewide vote. It also would require the signatures to be spread equally over all four Nevada U.S. House districts.
Read moreHR 1 exacts partisan political advantage in exchange for desperately needed voting rights
U.S. democracy is in existential crisis.
The country already suffers from unrepresentative winner-take-all, single-seat-district legislative elections, a two-party duopoly, partisan gerrymandering, the corrupting influence of big money in politics, and an Electoral College and US Senate that give vastly outsized influence to some voters over others. In the case of the Electoral College, it can also prevent the presidential candidate receiving the most votes from being elected.
Read moreGreen Party of NJ launches petition drive
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Denounces Current Lawsuit Focusing Only On Ballot Design During Primaries
The Green Party of New Jersey (GPNJ) calls on the Fair Ballot Project and all coalition members to embrace general elections, too, not just primaries. GPNJ denounces this current lawsuit for chasing 'Democracy' because it promotes only the agenda of the mainstream political parties, instead of promoting democracy for all.
Read moreNew bill designed to destroy 3rd parties
Redacted Tonight with Lee Camp
The Democrats are pursuing an ostensible "Voting Rights" bill that seriously undermines 3rd party politics. For additional information, please visit https://www.gp.org/hr_1.
Read moreHR 1 doesn't go far enough
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It still wouldn't make it easy being Green
Last week the House voted 220-210 to pass HR 1, the Democratic majority's sweeping electoral reform bill intended to strengthen voting rights, enhance campaign finance reform, and address government ethics and corruption in politics. But the legislation also contains a poison pill designed to reduce political competition and voter choice, entrenching the polarizing duopoly electoral system that made Donald Trump's presidency possible.
Read moreAmend H.R. 1 to protect voting rights, not big donors
The “For the People Act” (H.R.1/S.1) is voting rights legislation now pending in Congress. Civil rights organizations are urgently supporting this bill in order to secure voting rights against over 250 voter suppression bills introduced by Republicans this year in 43 state legislatures.
As a GOP lawyer bluntly told the U.S. Supreme Court on March 2 in an Arizona voting rights case when asked why the Republican Party opposed removing a voting restriction, “Because it puts us at a competitive disadvantage relative to Democrats.” The voting rights sections of H.R.1 are important federal measures to enact at a time when the Republican Party seeks to restrict voting rights at the state level.
Read moreCalls To Action from the Green Party of Santa Clara County
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In a recent Gallup poll, a record 62% of US voters said we need a new major party.
Stop HR-1, the Voting Rights Bill That Restricts Voter Choice
HR-1 is sold as a way to get money out of politics and to protect voters, but it contains a poison pill for democracy and opposition parties like the Green Party in its campaign finance reform section. HR1 quintuples the amount of money Green presidential campaigns will be required to raise to qualify for federal matching funds: from $5,000 in each of 20 states to $25,000 per state.
Read moreGreen Party calls out HR 1 poison pills
The federal HR 1 - For the People Act - is designed to protect and expand voting rights against Republican efforts to curtail at the state level. But the Green Party says that the public campaign finance proposals, rather than reigning in special interest money, will block third parties from participating. Michael O'Neil, Communications Manager for the Green Party of the US discuss this with Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Radio Network.
Read moreGreen Party of Virginia condemns poison pill provisions of H.R. 1
RICHMOND, VA – The Green Party of Virginia condemns multiple provisions of the recently introduced H.R.1, otherwise known as the For the People Act, which undermines third parties. The bill, while purporting to expand democracy, includes changes to rules governing the public financing of campaigns that are aimed squarely at limiting the participation of third parties.
Such provisions include section 5202(1)(a) which quintuples the amount of money that campaigns need to raise in order to qualify for federal matching funds. These funds are an incredibly important source of income for third parties, especially the Green Party which takes no corporate money. Raising the threshold for acquiring these funds does nothing to promote democracy, and by limiting the participation of third parties, does much to harm it.
Stop the HR1 Poison Pills That Suppress Voter Choice
HR 1, also known as the “For The People Act,” is sold as a way to get money out of politics and to protect voters, but it contains several poison pills for democracy and opposition parties like the Green Party. Most alarmingly, HR1 quintuples the amount of money Green presidential campaigns will be required to raise to qualify for federal matching funds: from $5,000 in each of 20 states to $25,000 per state.
The Green Party stands opposed to the anti-democracy poison pills in HR 1, a package that is sold as a “voting rights” bill but would actually undermine everyone's right to organize electorally against the parties of War and Wall Street. In a recent Gallup poll, a record 62% of US voters said we need a new major party.
In addition to quintupling the money presidential candidates must raise to access presidential primary public matching funds, other poison pills in HR1 would:
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Abolish the general election campaign block grants that parties can access by winning at least 5% of the vote in the previous presidential election. HR1 would eliminate this provision that was created to give a fair shot to alternative parties that demonstrate significant public support
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Replace the general election block grants (where each qualified candidate receives a set, lump sum of public funding for campaign expenses) with matching funds through Election Day — a huge step backwards for public campaign finance reform — using the above-mentioned criteria designed to squeeze out alternative parties and independent candidates
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Eliminate the limits on donations and expenditures candidates can receive and make — what kind of campaign finance reform is that?
- Inflate the amount of money national party committees can give to candidates from $5000 to $100 million, an astonishing increase of 1999900% that would give party bosses virtually unlimited power to flood elections with big money
HR 1 contains some good provisions to combat voter suppression and enact incremental electoral reforms in the right direction. But democracy depends as much on the right to run for office in elections as the right to vote in elections. As the infamous Boss Tweed said “you can vote for anyone you like, as long I get to pick the candidates!” The anti-democracy poison pills must be removed from HR 1 before it can be passed.
Instead of trying to fool American voters and eliminating alternative party voices, the Green Party calls for real reforms to democratize elections:
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The Fair Representation Act, introduced in 2018 and 2019, would enact Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) and multi-member districts for Congressional elections, giving voters more power and more choice.
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Individual state governments should enact RCV for their elections, including the presidential election.
- Fully-public campaign finance for every federal, state and local office through the Clean Money/Clean Elections model now used in Arizona and Maine
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