2008 Woodie Awards
Libertarians don't make the ballot this election
Aaron Hall
Issue date: 10/31/06 Section: Campus News
A democratic society is based the ability to choose our government officials. To that end it could be assumed that there would be a free and open ballot representing various political perspectives and ideologies. In North Carolina that is not the case, according to state Green Party Activist Hart Matthews.
"North Carolina has the third most restrictive signature requirement in the nation," he continued in reference to third parties and independent candidates.
North Carolina law mandates that at each election, an independent candidate or third party must receive 10% of the gubernatorial vote to remain on the ballot the next election year. If that doesn't happen, the party needs to get 69,734 signatures to be recertified.
"Since at least a third of those signatures will be invalid, we have to overshoot, which means we need to get over 100,000 signatures, or one signature for every 73 citizens."
More than two-thirds of states require 10,000 signatures or less for an independent candidate to appear on a state ballot, and 21 states require less than 10,000 to get a third party listed. Nine states require 5,000 or less.
The strict requirements have often kept third party candidates off the ballot in North Carolina. In fact, the Libertarian Party has been de-certified and re-certified eight times, after spending over $100,000 and at least nine months working through the process, only to have to do it all over again for the next election. The effect is to stifle any grassroots growth in third parties because to even be an option, Matthews explained, because the party must be able to get a tenth of the vote.
But state third parties and voter's groups have not all taken this sitting down. Several groups including the N.C. Green Party, the N.C. Libertarian Party, the ACLU, and the League of Women Voters have joined together to form the N.C. Open Election Coalition, whose obvious goal is to reduce the requirements.They almost succeeded last year with North Carolina House Bill 88, which would have reduced the necessary percentage of the gubernatorial vote to two percent and would have also cut the number of needed signatures by four-fifths. The group hopes to try again next year.
It may be an uphill battle.
After a canvassing drive to get the Libertarians back on the ballot - a movement that included the UNCG student group - the party failed to get the required signatures and won't be able to field candidates this year.
"No third party has ever gotten on the state ballot without paying petitioners," Matthews said. He believes this issue isn't going away , but change won't come until those affiliated with the two major parties see the system as undemocratic and demand a change, even for other political persuasions.
"If you believe in a democratic society," he concluded, "then there should be no barriers to different ideas."
"North Carolina has the third most restrictive signature requirement in the nation," he continued in reference to third parties and independent candidates.
North Carolina law mandates that at each election, an independent candidate or third party must receive 10% of the gubernatorial vote to remain on the ballot the next election year. If that doesn't happen, the party needs to get 69,734 signatures to be recertified.
"Since at least a third of those signatures will be invalid, we have to overshoot, which means we need to get over 100,000 signatures, or one signature for every 73 citizens."
More than two-thirds of states require 10,000 signatures or less for an independent candidate to appear on a state ballot, and 21 states require less than 10,000 to get a third party listed. Nine states require 5,000 or less.
The strict requirements have often kept third party candidates off the ballot in North Carolina. In fact, the Libertarian Party has been de-certified and re-certified eight times, after spending over $100,000 and at least nine months working through the process, only to have to do it all over again for the next election. The effect is to stifle any grassroots growth in third parties because to even be an option, Matthews explained, because the party must be able to get a tenth of the vote.
But state third parties and voter's groups have not all taken this sitting down. Several groups including the N.C. Green Party, the N.C. Libertarian Party, the ACLU, and the League of Women Voters have joined together to form the N.C. Open Election Coalition, whose obvious goal is to reduce the requirements.They almost succeeded last year with North Carolina House Bill 88, which would have reduced the necessary percentage of the gubernatorial vote to two percent and would have also cut the number of needed signatures by four-fifths. The group hopes to try again next year.
It may be an uphill battle.
After a canvassing drive to get the Libertarians back on the ballot - a movement that included the UNCG student group - the party failed to get the required signatures and won't be able to field candidates this year.
"No third party has ever gotten on the state ballot without paying petitioners," Matthews said. He believes this issue isn't going away , but change won't come until those affiliated with the two major parties see the system as undemocratic and demand a change, even for other political persuasions.
"If you believe in a democratic society," he concluded, "then there should be no barriers to different ideas."
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