On January 16, the Maryland State Board of Elections determined that the Green Party petition to renew its party status has enough valid signatures. The party will now be on the ballot in 2016 and 2018.
Ballot Access News
Edited By Richard Winger
On January 16, the Maryland State Board of Elections determined that the Green Party petition to renew its party status has enough valid signatures. The party will now be on the ballot in 2016 and 2018.
How many states is that for 2016?
We’re at 21 states now. At this point in the 2012 election cycle, we had 14.
21.
The Arkansas Green and Libertarian Parties are trying to find a legislator to introduce a bill to change the vote test for party status, from a group that got 3% for governor/president, to a group that got 3% for any statewide race at either of the last 2 elections. If that bill could pass, both parties would be back on. The Connecticut Libertarian and Green Parties have got a bill introduced to say that when a statewide candidate gets 1%, then the party is on for all statewide races, not just that particular race. If that bill passed, Greens would be on automatically for president and US Senate in Connecticut.
So, the number of ballot-qualified states can rise, not only by petition drives or registration drives, but also by lobbying.