Letter from Jordon Greene, Founder of North Carolinians for Free and Proper Elections

Originally published on North Carolinians for Free and Proper Elections, November 5th, 2008. Republished with permission.

Dear Concerned North Carolinians:

The 2008 election of November fourth has brought North Carolina several good turnouts. First, Republican State Senator Jim Jacumin, who has expressed his desire to push for free and fair elections and has promised to introduce legislation in the NC General Assembly to do such, won his re-election bid with just under 58% of the vote. The NCFPE will be working with Senator Jacumin as closely as possible to ensure a bill to alleviate the ballot problem is introduced, yet, we assure you that we cannot do this alone. We will need the support and help of the citizen's of North Carolina to make sure our message is heard and acted upon in the NC General Assembly. So be sure to keep checking back at the NCFPE website for updates on the future bill in the NC General Assembly.

Second, the North Carolinians for Free and Proper Elections would like to applaud all of the Libertarian candidates who ran for election this year, and we especially applaud Mike Munger, Libertarian candidate for Governor, who was able to garner 2.87% of the vote (120,890 votes) for Governor and in the mean time guaranteed the Libertarian Party of North Carolina ballot access for 2010 and 2012. His achievement is a great one, that will allow the Libertarian Party of NC to run more effective campaigns in the future by being able to focus their funds on campaigning instead of ballot access. Again, we congratulate the Libertarian Party of North Carolina in their success.

Now that the elections are over, please do not put politics aside and return to life as normal, but rather keep in mind the struggles that third political parties and unaffiliated candidates in North Carolina have ahead of them now, and find ways to help out. With voter turnout for the 2008 elections overall being one of the highest for the state in twenty four years (over 68%), ballot access for third parties and unaffiliated candidates in North Carolina is going to be difficult with our current laws. New political parties will now have to obtain at least 84,430 signatures to simply qualify their party for the ballot, this is over 14,500 signatures more than was required for ballot access in 2008. It is also important to note that these numbers do not include the extra signatures a party will need due to the signatures that the state throws out, meaning that for a new political party to obtain ballot access in 2010 or 2012, they will most likely have to obtain around 121,000 signatures total. So please, keep the problem of ballot access on your mind and make sure that your newly elected representatives in the NC House of Representatives and NC Senate know where you stand on ballot access. Let's make alleviated ballot access and truly free and fair elections an issue that the North Carolina General Assembly cannot ignore any longer.

For Liberty's Sake,
Jordon M. Greene
President, North Carolinians for Free and Proper Elections
*Statistics given above are based on unofficial election results from the NC State Board of Elections web site as of 1:20 AM on 11-05-2008.

For more information on the ballot access issue, some interesting history of ballot access laws in North Caroina, and NCFPE-PAC's draft of a bill to address the ballot access problem, check out the NCFPE website.

NC Libertarians Keep Ballot Access!

Contributed by Darren O’Connor

The Libertarian Party of North Carolina succeeded in getting more than 2% of the vote in the gubernatorial race, thus meeting the state government's oppressive requirement for staying on the ballot for the next four years without having to complete another obscenely time consuming and expensive petition drive!

Mike Munger, Libertarian candidate for Governor, received 2.87% of the vote. Along the way, he managed to spread the message of liberty to all corners of the state. He showed people fed up with the state-sponsored parties that there is another choice.

The Republicans and Democrats have worked for decades to make sure the public doesn't hear other voices. They don't want people to know that there is a philosophy out there that is based on cooperation and achievement rather than coercion and pandering. Now we have a good four years to focus on breaking through the government's barriers to our message and helping North Carolinians get to know the libertarian philosophy–the only philosophy that's built on freedom in ALL areas of life, not just certain select categories. More on that in my next post.

Again, great job by Dr. Mike Munger and all our candidates across the state!

This article was originally posted at ‘No Coercion’.

Fair Ballot Access for Increased Voter Choice

In anticipation of the Candidate and Ballot Access Forum coming up this Tuesday, Jan MacKay, the Libertarian candidate for NC Senator for District 15, has drafted proposed legislation entitled “Fair Ballot Access for Increased Voter Choice”.

According to Jan MacKay, “In addition to being extremely biased in favor of Democrats and Republicans , which are the two largest political parties, the current law is also very flawed. If, for whatever reason, a party is terminated, if there is a member of that party elected to the NC General Assembly, the legislator will automatically be deemed ‘unaffiliated’. Let’s say, for example, Jan MacKay is elected to the NC Senate as the Libertarian candidate. There is no provision which allows her to continue to be the Libertarian Senator if the party is terminated. It is not clear what would happen to Libertarians elected to the NCGA , but the law clearly specifies that all registered voters become unaffiliated upon termination of a political party. The State would probably deem the NCGA member as unaffiliated, and such a move might present an unwanted and unnecessary judicial challenge. Clearly the law must be amended.”

Jan MacKay knows about the legislative process as a result of diligence when fighting for civil liberties, and is ready to go to work as your senator immediately. She will be speaking during the ballot access part of the forum in Raleigh this coming Tuesday, along with Brian Irving, the Libertarian candidate for NC Senator for District 17.

The candidate and ballot access forum begins at 6pm this Tuesday in the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall, 3313 Wade Ave, Raleigh. Susan Hogarth, the Libertarian candidate to represent district 38 in the NC House, will participate in the candidate part of the forum, as will Deborah Ross, the current representative for district 38.

Learn more about Jan MacKay on her campaign website. For more information on the candidate and ballot access forum in Raleigh, please see this article or this printer-friendly flyer, and plan to join us there!

Link to the proposed ballot access legislation (pdf)

Mike Munger talks about ballot access in North Carolina on LibertyTube TV

In this episode of LibertyTube TV, Mike Munger talks about ballot access in North Carolina and democracy in America. Phillip Rhodes makes a brief appearance near the beginning.

Candidate & ballot access forum

The Triangle Green Party is sponsoring a Candidate and Ballot Access Forum Tuesday, Oct. 21 beginning at 6 p.m. in the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall, 3313 Wade Ave, Raleigh.

The first part of the evening will feature a discussion between Democrat Rep. Deborah Ross and Libertarian candidate Susan Hogarth, candidates for NC House District 38. The second half of the forum will be a discussion of Ballot Access issues, with Libertarian candidates Jan MacKay (Senate 15) and Brian Irving (Senate 17) joining the panel.

All candidates were invited to attend this forum. The Triangle Greens held three similar forums in Durham.

For more information email build4green@nc.rr.com or call 919-491-3186.

I urge all Wake Libertarian activists to attend, to show our support for the Libertarian-Green alliance on this issue. The Greens have sponsored three similar forums in Durham.

A good turnout could also influence Rep. Ross, who has said she's in favor of lowering the ballot access restrictions. Jan will have copies of a bill she's drafted, Fair Ballot Access for Increased Voter Choice.

Our Day in Court & Forced Annexation Hearing

Contributed by Brian Irving

The LPNC lawsuit against NC's restrictive ballot access laws is scheduled for a summary judgment hearing this Wednesday, January 30, at 9:30 a. m. in Wake County Superior Court. A good presence in the courtroom will be useful. Please make it, if you can.

For additional information, email Barbara at chair@lpnc.org or give her a call at 919-690-1423 (home) or 919-475-2371 (cell).

Regardless of the outcome of this case, we still need money to pay our legal fees. Any and all donations are welcome.

Go to https://lpnc.org//donate.php and give what you can.

Forced Annexation Hearing

At the same time the LPNC will be in court, forced annexation opponents will be out in force at the NC General Assembly. The House Select Committee on Municipal Annexation will meet Wednesday, Jan. 30 at 10 a.m. in room 544 of the Legislative Office Building.

StopNCAnnexation urges everyone who opposed forced annexation to attend this meeting. It is also important that everyone who can attend be seated in before the meeting begins. The NC League of Municipalities will surely have an organized effort to fill the room with their supporters and lobbyists.

At the same hour, Americans for Prosperity NC and the Pinewild gated community in Moore County will hold a press conference to announce a lawsuit filed in Federal court by the Pinewild community, challenging their annexation into Pinehurst. The news conference will be in front of the legislative building.

In the lawsuit, the Pinewild community asserts that the annexation is seizure of their streets and common infrastructure without the just compensation required by the Fifth Amendment.

Winning this lawsuit will be helpful to all gated communities across North Carolina. If other aspects of the Pinewild legal challenge advances the cause of defining and requiring "meaningful services" to be provided in a forced annexation, this would be helpful to the entire cause for every property owner under the threat of annexation.

Act NOW for BALLOT ACCESS!

Please sign the H88 petition

The NC Open Elections Coalition, a group of organizations which are committed to broader ballot access in North Carolina, has prepared an online petition for you to sign and share with your friends. It will only take a moment, and this is a great way for you to get your non-Libertarian friends to help us in this struggle - please go to the website, sign, and then send your friends there to sign!!:

http://www.petitiononline.com/ncopec/petition.html