Why not?
Friday, June 30th, 2006
By Chris Fitzsimon
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The N.C. Open Elections Coalition is calling for the state to make it easier for small political parties to get on the ballot. The coalition, made up of the Green, Libertarian and Constitution parties, wants the General Assembly to adopt less-stringent requirements for such parties to meet so they can find a spot on the ballot.
North Carolina requires that small political parties garner 70,000 signatures before their candidates are allowed to appear on ballots. That makes the state the third-most difficult for third parties when it comes to getting candidates on ballots, according to an Associated Press report.
‘‘We’d like every voter in North Carolina — no matter their political persuasion — to have a representative option on the ballot,’’ said Sean Haugh, a former Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate, in a AP report.
Political parties may keep their status in continuous elections if they collect at least 10 percent of the vote in a gubernatorial or presidential election. The coalition prefers a 2-percent mark.
Last year, the N.C. State Board of Elections revoked Libertarians’ status as an official political party in North Carolina because the party did not acquire at least 10 percent of the votes cast in the 2004 presidential and gubernatorial elections. The status also was revoked because Libertarians collected just 25,000 signatures of the 70,000 signatures they needed on a petition to remain an official party. (more…)
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