Maryland LP collects 7,000 sigs to make ballot

Libertarian Presidential Candidate Delivers Signatures for Maryland Ballot | Maryland Matters - Hannah Gaskill:

August 5, 2020 - "Libertarian candidate Jo Jorgensen presented more than 7,000 signatures to the State Board of Elections Monday, which she hopes will more than fulfill Maryland’s requirement to appear on the state ballot for president.... About 30 people lined the sidewalks of Annapolis’ West Street as Jorgensen exited a big blue campaign bus adorned with her face. Bob Johnston, chair of the Libertarian Party of Maryland, followed as she walked to the Board of Elections office, three cardboard beer boxes of petitions in tow, bearing 7,731 signatures. The minimum requirement for third party candidates in Maryland is 5,000 valid voter signatures.

"According to Joe Bishop-Henchman, chair of the Libertarian National Committee, Jorgensen has qualified to appear on the ballot in 42 of 50 states. Bishop-Henchman said the party is still working toward meeting requirements in the other eight states....

"Addressing her supporters in a parking garage near the State Board of Elections office, Jorgensen thanked volunteers for pushing for her to be on the ballot.

"'It’s just so important to be on the ballot in all 50 states,” she said, 'because right now the status quo is giving us the impression that we have an alternative — that we have a choice, but we’ve got two big government people, they both want to increase spending, they both want to take away your decision-making power and neither one wants to bring the troops home, so the only way to get that choice to every American is to be on the ballot in all 50 states.'

"Twice in her interview with Maryland Matters Jorgensen asserted that, if she were in the Oval Office, her first priority would be 'bringing the troops home — day one. Because that’s something I can do myself,' she said. 'I don’t need Congress to do that. I don’t need their help to do that.' She also recommended bringing overseas troops home as one solution to America’s major economic downturn brought on by the coronavirus crisis.

"Despite its effect on every aspect of American life, the pandemic has not slowed Jorgensen. Annapolis was one of her first stops along her '20-city, 16-day bus tour,' going as far west as Kansas City, Mo. and Dallas, Tx. Jorgensen jabbed at presumptive Democratic Nominee Joe Biden (D) for being 'locked up in his basement giving Zoom interviews' while she is traveling around the country.

"Jorgensen said the date of the election should not be moved. 'We’ve been through much worse than this in our country,' she said. 'And I just want to point out that my goal as president would be to make government so small that it wouldn’t even matter if people forgot to vote, that they could make their own choices in health care, environment, health, education, and so on, and that they wouldn’t even worry about who was in the White House'.... She criticized the current administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that Trump should have lifted FDA restrictions on U.S.-made test kits and promoted testing for asymptomatic citizens."

Read more: https://www.marylandmatters.org/2020/08/05/libertarian-presidential-candidate-delivers-signatures-for-maryland-ballot/  

Maryland lowers ballot access signature bar

Ballot Access Requirement for Maryland Green, Libertarian Parties Cut in Half | Maryland Matters -  Danielle E. Gaines:

June 20, 2020 - "The petition requirement for Maryland’s Green and Libertarian parties to gain ballot access for the November general election has been slashed in half. The parties will have until Aug. 3 to turn in 5,000 valid signatures from registered voters, down from the statutory requirement of 10,000.

"The state’s leading third parties filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court to reduce the requirement late last month, arguing that the state’s springtime stay-at-home order and social distancing guidelines made it impossible for them to exercise their First Amendment rights.The parties had sought to reduce the requirement to 1,000 valid signatures. A settlement agreement was filed in the court on Friday....

"The state board approved a policy change in late April to allow parties and candidates to collect signatures electronically during the COVID-19 pandemic....

"The Libertarian Party of Maryland has collected about 3,000 signatures so far and hopes to collect another 4,000 before the August deadline, Bob Johnston, the party’s state chair, said. The party has some petitioners working on the ground now and hopes to add more soon.

"The national party is committed to 50-state ballot access for the Libertarian presidential ticket, which will help the party’s cause in Maryland, but getting signatures will still be difficult with most of the large festivals that petitioners used to visit still canceled, Johnston said.

"'The people who have been telling us to socially distance, are now telling us to go collect signatures. …It’s really putting us in a bind,' he said."

Read more: https://www.marylandmatters.org/blog/ballot-access-requirement-for-green-libertarian-parties-cut-in-half/

20K registered Libertarians in Maryland, but LP loses party status

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."

Read more: https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-green-libertarian-party-20190319-story.html

'via Blog this'

Maryland LP stays on ballot; first time in 44 years

Maryland LP retains ballot access for first time | Libertarian Party:

November 12, 2014 - "For the first time in its history, the Maryland Libertarian Party met the vote test to retain ballot access.

"It was also the first time in 44 years that any challenge party in the state was able to retain ballot access.

"Gubernatorial candidate Shawn Quinn and candidate for lieutenant governor Lorenzo Gaztanaga received 1.5 percent of the vote last Tuesday, and the state party will appear on the ballot in 2016.

"In Maryland, the top-of-the-ticket candidate must get 1 percent, or the party must have at least 1 percent of the registered voters on the last day of the year to continue as a recognized party. In 2016, the LP presidential candidate must get at least 1 percent.

"Because of restrictive ballot access laws, no alternative party candidate had run for statewide office between 1970 and 2002, when Spear Lancaster ran for governor as a Libertarian. In addition to having to collect 10,000 signatures, non-Democrat/Republican candidates also had to petition individually to get on the ballot, which during Lancaster's campaign required more than 34,000 signatures. The individual candidate petition was struck down the next year by the highest court in the state, and now candidates can get on the ballot as long as the party has ballot access."

Read more: http://www.lp.org/blogs/staff/maryland-lp-retains-ballot-access-for-first-time

Libertarian highlights from the 2014 midterms

Libertarian Election Results 2014 - J. Wilson, A Libertarian Future:

November 5, 2014 - "Libertarian candidates may not have won very many elections this year, but we’ve had some high percentage victories. In some states, that means we’ll get the ballot access we deserve for the next election. Guaranteed ballot access is important because it’s time and money that we won’t have to waste next time. Libertarians will be able to spend more time and money campaigning, and less time getting arbitrary signature counts.

"These high percentage Libertarian election results also send a clear message to both of the two parties. Voting Libertarian tells them they won’t receive our consent, and will have to work harder if they ever want our votes. If they don’t, we’re more than happy to keep voting Libertarian.

"These Libertarian election results show just how many Americans are fed up with the two party system and want a third major party.

• Top Voter Percentage: Randall Lord from Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District with 26.56% (55,224 votes) 
• Runner Up: Lucas Overby from Florida’s 13th Congressional District with 24.75% (55,273 votes) 
• Top Vote Total: Adrian Wyllie for Governor of Florida with 222,565 votes (3.75% of the vote) 
• Runner Up: Bill Wohlsifer for Attorney General of Florida with 168,946 votes (2.9% of the vote) 

"Ballot Access: Hawaii, for winning more than 4% of the vote in all State Senate races. Maryland, for winning more than 1% in the Governor’s Race. Mississippi, for winning more than 2% of the vote in House elections. North Dakota, for winning more than 5% of the vote in a Statewide Race. Utah, for winning more than 2% in a Statewide office. Wisconsin, for receiving more than 1% of the vote in a Statewide Race. Wyoming, for winning more than 2% of the vote in the House election....

"More to come!"

Read more: http://alibertarianfuture.com/2014-election/libertarian-election-results-2014/#sthash.ToC0ljkF.dpbs
'via Blog this'