Green and Libertarian parties are technically no longer recognized in Maryland. Here's why. - Baltimore Sun - Lillian Reed:
March 20, 2019 - "Maryland voters registered as members of the Green and Libertarian parties may have received a letter in the mail stating their party is no longer recognized by the state.... The letter states that the Green and Libertarian parties each lost their status as a recognized political party in Maryland. That means registered members of both parties had their affiliation automatically changed from Green and Libertarian to 'Other-Green' and 'Other-Libertarian,' respectively....
"For a political party to appear on a ballot in Maryland, it must ... nominate a candidate who receives at least 1 percent of the total vote for the highest office on the ballot in a statewide general election, or show that the party represents at least 1 percent of the state’s registered voters.
"The state, which evaluates each political party’s status every four years, found in December that the Green and Libertarian parties had not fulfilled either of the two provisions, said Donna Duncan, assistant deputy for election policy with the State Board of Elections.
"The Libertarians filed a lawsuit Dec. 27 against the state. The party’s Maryland spokesman Lorenzo Gaztañaga called the state’s decision to remove the party from ballots a 'waste of resources' over what is ultimately a technicality, he said.
"To regain its status, the party must submit a petition with 10,000 signatures pledging interest in seeing the party appear on the ballot. In the lawsuit, Libertarians are arguing that the petition should be unnecessary given that there were already more than 20,000 registered Libertarians in Maryland, Gaztañaga said....
"The Maryland Green Party supports the aim of the Libertarians’ lawsuit. In past years, Green Party leadership has sought to change Maryland’s laws from requiring the party to represent 1 percent of registered voters to instead requiring it to represent 10,000 registered voters, said Andy Ellis, secretary for the Maryland Green Party. Prior to losing its status, the Maryland Green Party had about 9,200 registered voters, Ellis said....
"Maryland voting laws create a disadvantage for candidates who wish to run for office as a member of the Green Party, Ellis said. 'We'd like to be recruiting candidates right now, but candidates can't file with us at the moment,' he said....
"Both Ellis and Gaztañaga were confident their respective parties will regain recognition in Maryland, regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit."
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March 20, 2019 - "Maryland voters registered as members of the Green and Libertarian parties may have received a letter in the mail stating their party is no longer recognized by the state.... The letter states that the Green and Libertarian parties each lost their status as a recognized political party in Maryland. That means registered members of both parties had their affiliation automatically changed from Green and Libertarian to 'Other-Green' and 'Other-Libertarian,' respectively....
"For a political party to appear on a ballot in Maryland, it must ... nominate a candidate who receives at least 1 percent of the total vote for the highest office on the ballot in a statewide general election, or show that the party represents at least 1 percent of the state’s registered voters.
"The state, which evaluates each political party’s status every four years, found in December that the Green and Libertarian parties had not fulfilled either of the two provisions, said Donna Duncan, assistant deputy for election policy with the State Board of Elections.
"The Libertarians filed a lawsuit Dec. 27 against the state. The party’s Maryland spokesman Lorenzo Gaztañaga called the state’s decision to remove the party from ballots a 'waste of resources' over what is ultimately a technicality, he said.
"To regain its status, the party must submit a petition with 10,000 signatures pledging interest in seeing the party appear on the ballot. In the lawsuit, Libertarians are arguing that the petition should be unnecessary given that there were already more than 20,000 registered Libertarians in Maryland, Gaztañaga said....
"The Maryland Green Party supports the aim of the Libertarians’ lawsuit. In past years, Green Party leadership has sought to change Maryland’s laws from requiring the party to represent 1 percent of registered voters to instead requiring it to represent 10,000 registered voters, said Andy Ellis, secretary for the Maryland Green Party. Prior to losing its status, the Maryland Green Party had about 9,200 registered voters, Ellis said....
"Maryland voting laws create a disadvantage for candidates who wish to run for office as a member of the Green Party, Ellis said. 'We'd like to be recruiting candidates right now, but candidates can't file with us at the moment,' he said....
"Both Ellis and Gaztañaga were confident their respective parties will regain recognition in Maryland, regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit."
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