Greens, Libertarians Making Progress on Party Petitions

Greens, Libertarians Making Progress on Party Petitions

The Green and Libertarian Parties are well on their way to a place on Iowa's voter registration forms under a new petition procedure.

"One conservative-looking woman asked why we had to petition, and I explained that the requirement is to weed out non-serious time-wasters, like a Flying Loony Bats party," Green Party secretary Holly Hart of Iowa City told Iowa Independent. "Her response was to point out that the president is obviously a member of the Flying Loony Bats. Everyone I've run into so far is disgusted with the current administration."

With the support of the ACLU, the two parties sued then-Secretary of State Chet Culver to earn a place on voter registration forms. Under state law, a political party is only a "qualified party" if it wins more than 2 percent of the vote for president or governor and then keeps that level of support in each general election. Under a settlement, an "unqualified party" can now be listed if it placed a nominee on the ballot in the last election, and if it submits 850 signatures on a petition.

Ballot Access News reports that the Green Party now has over more than 800 signatures on its voter registration petition, and the Libertarians have 600. The two parties are helping each other in the effort, each passing both parties' petitions and encouraging people to sign both.

"Most signers are 'green leaning,' but people sign both petitions," said Hart, "because they want to support diversity and more voices in the political arena. Very few people refuse to sign. The general reaction I get from people I ask to sign is that this is a matter of fairness, and they're glad to fulfill their civic responsibility by signing."

Hart, the Green's 2002 nominee for lieutenant governor, said the party has gotten signatures from around the state. A big effort has been focused on Iowa City's Friday night downtown concerts. Hart sees progress on multiple levels. "It feels like petitioning has been going smoothly and at a reasonably progressive rate," she said of the procedure itself. As for the larger issue of winning support for the Green Party, Hart said: "the general public doesn't rank Greens and Libertarians in with Flying Loony Bats, while believing that the description does, indeed, fit some political figures."

At present, Iowa is one of only two states that do not allow voters to register with an affiliation other than Democratic, Republican or some variation of independent (Iowa's term is "No Party"). Assuming the Green and Libertarian petitions succeed, Kansas will be the last holdout.