Libertarians may loose ballot status
Next year's partisan elections might end up with one less party on the ballot. From our friends at the Associated Press:
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Libertarians could lose their official status as a political party in North Carolina because they failed to get at least 10 percent of the votes cast in last year's gubernatorial and presidential races.The State Board of Elections has scheduled time during a teleconference meeting Monday to discuss the party's standing. Sean Haugh, the party's executive director, said Friday he and party Chairman Thomas Hill will participate from Raleigh.
Along with the missed vote totals, the party has gathered only 25,000 of the nearly 70,000 signatures it needs to stay alive. Only Democrats and Republicans would be entitled to appear on ballots in partisan elections.
Haugh conceded that the party has failed to meet the state requirements, but said he hopes that the elections board will use its discretion to allow the party to remain on the ballot.
"It's simply in their best interests," he said. "If they did de-certify us they would have to send a mailing to all 13,000 members of the Libertarian Party.
"It would be very expensive and time-consuming."
Libertarians have appeared on ballots in North Carolina continuously since 1996. About a half-dozen municipal leaders belong to the party, along with several members of county soil and water district boards and a county surveyor.
Elections board chairman Larry Leake, a Democrat from Asheville, said Libertarians have used up their grace period.
"They either have the petition signatures," Leake said, "or they don't."