Voter suppression in the 2020 election has become a topic of great concern. In reality, voter suppression has been part of US politics since the founding of the country. The oligarchs who wrote the US Constitution enabled voter suppression by not including the right to vote in it and only allowing white male property owners to vote, suppressing the votes of 94 percent of the population.

Five of 16 states had white-only voting in 1800 and after 1802, every new state, free or slave, except for Maine banned Black people from voting. In 1807, New Jersey, which originally gave voting rights to “all inhabitants,” excluded women and Black men from voting. Maryland banned Jewish people from its polls until 1828. After the Civil War expanded voting rights to Black men, the Black vote was suppressed through intimidation campaigns and Jim Crow laws. After decades of protests, the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965 and voting by Black people increased, but in recent years suppression tactics are reducing that vote.

The Montana Green Party is disappointed at the decision to once again remove us from the state ballot as a voting option, in what is starting to become a trend to prevent green activism. Many thousands of registered voters signed petitions to include the party on the ballot both in 2018 and 2020, both times would have ensured statewide green ballot access for two election cycles.

Since our prior removal from the ballot in 2018, our primary goal is the focus on growing the party within the state, especially at the local level. This includes offices for mayor, city council, school board, county races, and at the very most Legislative State House and State Senate districts.

(CNN) – The Montana secretary of state is asking the Supreme Court to intervene in a fight over whether the Green Party can be on the state ballot this fall -- a decision that could have a major impact on a key US Senate race between Republican incumbent Sen. Steve Daines and Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock.

Secretary of State Cory Stapleton, a Republican, filed an emergency request Monday urging the high court to place a hold on proceedings pending further legal action after lower courts had approved the Green Party absence from the ballot.

As Ronald Reagan famously said in 1980, "There you go again." This time the Pennsylvania Democratic Party reacts in fear and trembling to the big bad Pennsylvania Green Party by once again taking them to court to keep them off the Novemember ballot, as though Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is afraid of Green Party presidential candidate Howie Hawkins.

I doubt that, and I doubt he even knows about the Pennsylvania ballot access situation. It would be interesting to get his reaction to this, but I'd be willing to bet we'll never get that.

We wanted to check in and keep you up to date with our latest ballot access developments, because there's a role for you to play!

First, the good news. With your help, we turned in a large excess of signatures over the last few weeks in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. Since turning in petitions in Iowa on August 15, we have since learned that we're certified for the ballot.

Isn't that great news?

SYRACUSE, NY –  The ongoing struggle to give voters more choices continues. Yesterday, the Wisconsin Elections Commission in a partisan 3-3 vote refused to put the Green Party presidential ticket of Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker on the ballot.

The Hawkins/Walker campaign promised to file suit to give voters a choice. "Thousands of voters in Wisconsin signed petitions to put us on the ballot. The Democratic Commission members have committed a crime against democracy by suppressing voter choice. If there is any justice left in Wisconsin, the judge will put us on the ballot," said Howie Hawkins, the Green Party presidential nominee.

During the last town council’s online meeting I spoke during public comment about a few important issues.

One I feel is of utmost importance and urgency was my request to the council, mayor and borough administration to ask for our own secure ballot drop box to be installed in time for the general election. I informed everyone that as of last week, there were only five secure ballot drop boxes throughout Passaic County: Clifton’s Municipal Building, Passaic’s Municipal Building, Ringwood’s Municipal Building, Wayne’s Municipal Building and the County of Passaic Administration Building in Paterson. Here is the link to their addresses and locations.

HOUSTON – On Monday August 17 around 10pm, the Green Party of Texas (GPTX) was named in two legal actions challenging the eligibility of three of our candidates nominated for the General Election. At 5:00 p.m. today, August 19, the 3rd Court of Appeals issued an opinion directing GPTX to declare Tom Wakely, katija gruene, and David Collins ineligible to appear as Green Party nominees on the General Election ballot.

SYRACUSE, NY –  Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate for President, said today that Democratic Party efforts to prevent him and VP nominee Angela Walker from being on the ballot was voter suppression that rivaled the more well-known efforts of Trump and the Republicans to undermine democracy .

The Greens cited Democratic Party efforts seeking to block Green opposition from the ballot this year in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Montana. The Greens have sued over ballot access in several states. Five third parties have sued Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York state over recent laws seeking to eliminate them. Most states have rejected calls to reduce ballot access requirements this year despite the pandemic making it extremely dangerous and unsafe to collect petition signatures in person.

HARRISBURG — Democrats in Pennsylvania are challenging paperwork filed by the state Green Party to get its candidates on the fall election ballot for president and several statewide offices.

Monday's filing in the state's Commonwealth Court said the Green Party's paperwork contained "numerous defective signatures, illegible signatures, signatures of unregistered voters, signatures in the handwriting of others and signatures of fictitious persons."