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| Greens Help Open New Path to 'Major Party' Status. |
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GREEN PARTY OF MINNESOTA June 09, 2005 Betsy Barnum, Chair, Green Party of Minnesota Revised Major Party Definition Nurtures Multi-Party Democracy in Minnesota ST. PAUL-- Minnesota’s small and emerging political parties now have an additional way to achieve recognition as a “Major Party.” Activists from the Green Party of Minnesota played a critical role in passage during the final days of the regular legislative session last week of a bill expanding the definition of “Major Party.” The bill was signed into law on June 3 by Gov. Tim Pawlenty. “Major Party” status gives a party’s candidates instant ballot access and qualifies them for public financing. Before the law was signed, a political party could achieve “Major Party” recognition only by winning at least five percent of the vote , with at least one vote from each county, in any race in which all Minnesota voters cast ballots-President, U.S. Senate, Governor or state constitutional offices (State Auditor, Secretary of State, Attorney General). Under the new definition, parties can also be recognized based upon the number of candidates they run for State Legislature, State Senate, U.S. House of Representative seats, Governor and state constitutional offices. Any party running at least 45 State House candidates, 23 State Senate candidates, four U.S. House candidates and one candidate each for Governor and the three state constitutional offices, now becomes a major party regardless of how many votes its candidates receive. “The revised definition of ‘Major Party’ boosts democracy in our state by giving smaller parties another avenue to compete in elections,” said Green Party chairperson Betsy Barnum. “We know that the majority of voters in Minnesota want more than two choices on the ballot. This law increases the likelihood of those additional choices being there.” The law also encourages grassroots party-building by allowing emerging parties to focus more of their time and effort on local and state races instead of the presidential race, added Barnum. Minnesota recognized four major parties-the Green Party, Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, Independence Party and Republican Party-for a four-year period ending on December 31, 2004. The Green Party of Minnesota lost its status as a major party at that time due to low vote totals for the Green nominee for president, David Cobb, last November. The Green Party of Minnesota is a minor party in Minnesota. It is founded on the principles of ecological wisdom, social and economic justice, non-violence and grassroots democracy. |
